Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones

The Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) is a Saudi national institution whose stated aim is to "empower the local workforce and enhance their capabilities" in cybersecurity, software development, drones and advanced technologies.¹ A 2018 version of its English homepage described it as "under the umbrella of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee" and based in Riyadh.² Its founding is dated to late 2017 in a 2018 Arab News report.³

Founding and the 2018 Chairmanship

The federation's 2018 homepage listed among its purposes "Establishing and organizing competitions and encouraging the spirit of competition," and the supporting of young people in "local or global competitions specialized in cyber security and programming."²

On April 15, 2018, Arab News reported a memorandum of understanding between the federation (named in that article as the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security and Programming) and Saudi Telecom Company (STC). The article identified the signatory side by quoting "Adviser at the Royal Court, chairman of the board of directors, SAFCSP, Saud bin Abdullah Al-Qahtani" on the agreement's effect for the federation.³ The same year Arab News described Saud al-Qahtani as "Royal Court advisor and head of the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones" when reporting the federation's Guinness record for a Hajj hackathon, dated August 2, 2018.⁴

Removal of Saud al-Qahtani

On October 20, 2018, Saudi state media reported that Qahtani had been fired as a royal court adviser. Al Jazeera wrote that "Saud al-Qahtani was fired as Saudi Arabia's royal court adviser on Saturday, Saudi state media reported," and linked the announcement to the official investigation into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.⁵ Arabic-language outlets reported the same day that a royal order issued by Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud relieved Qahtani, as royal court adviser, and Ahmed Asiri, deputy of the General Intelligence Presidency, from their posts.⁶⁷

A Bloomberg report dated October 24, 2018 carried the headline "Fired Saudi Royal Court Adviser Drops All Titles in Twitter Bio," which described Qahtani as having removed references to his titles from his public profile a week after his dismissal.⁸ On the day of the dismissal Qahtani posted on Twitter that he thanked the Saudi government for "the great opportunity they gave me to serve my country all those years."⁵

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnes Callamard, wrote in her June 2019 report that "The firing of Saud Alqahtani reflects some acknowledgement by the Government of Saudi Arabia of his involvement and responsibility. His criminal responsibility should be investigated further."⁹

Board and Management, 2019 to 2022

The recorded sequence of chairmen is Qahtani (April 2018, with the royal court title in the Arab News report), Abdullah Sharaf Alghamdi (listed on the board pages captured February and March 2019, and listed as president of SDAIA on the Homathon speaker page of 2020) and Faisal bin Saud Al-Khamisi (chairman since September 2019 according to Arab News).

The federation's Arabic and English board pages, captured in February and March 2019, list Abdullah Sharaf Alghamdi as chairman and Faisal bin Saud Al-Khamisi as managing director. The members listed include Ahmed Altheneyan, identified as deputy minister for technology industry and digital capacities; Yasser Alswailem, general manager of cybersecurity at STC; Khalid Alharbi, chief information security officer of Saudi Aramco; Mohammed Bamaga, executive vice president and chief information officer of Saudia; Deemah Alyahya, identified as adviser and executive director of the Misk Innovation initiative; and Ahmad Alsharqi, chief sector development officer of the General Entertainment Authority. The chief executive officer on the same page is Muteb Alqany.¹⁰¹¹

An Arab News profile of Al-Khamisi states that he "has been chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) since September 2019."⁴

The federation's 2020 Homathon speaker page lists Alqany as chief executive, Alyahya as a board member, and the president of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, among the speakers.¹²¹³

A September 2021 capture of the federation's About page lists Al-Khamisi as chairman and Alqany as CEO. Its board list adds Mohammed Albelwe, identified as chief marketing officer of SDAIA, and Alyahya, identified as secretary-general of the Digital Cooperation Organization.¹⁴

In October 2022 Arab News reported that Al-Khamisi, chairman of the board, praised the winners of the Tuwaiq Drone Challenge. The article transliterates the chief executive's name as "Mutaib Al-Quni."¹⁵

Programs

Hajj Hackathon

Arab News reported on August 2, 2018 that the kingdom had entered the Guinness Book of Records for "the largest Hajj Hackathon for cyber security, programming and drones," an event run by the federation.⁴ A 2021 capture of the federation's portfolio page lists the Hajj Hackathon with 2,950 participants from 51 countries and 48 training hours, and gives its site as hajjhackathon.sa.¹⁴

Homathon

The federation launched the Homathon, an online hackathon with a registration period from April 14 to 18, 2020 and an event period from April 19 to 25, 2020.¹⁶ The total prize pool was $85,000, with $50,000 for first place, $25,000 for second and $15,000 for third. The launch coverage says the judges were "international arbitrators from the world's major technical companies" and names no individual judges.¹⁶ The federation's 2021 portfolio lists the event as held on April 19, 2020 with more than 10,000 contestants.¹⁴ The Homathon's English homepage lists tracks for health, remote work, entertainment, commerce, eGovernment, fintech, logistics and edtech. Its guests include the chief executive of STC Group and a regional manager of Seedstars.¹³

An Alfaisal University news item of November 2, 2020 states that the Homathon was "set up by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones in collaboration with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority."¹⁷ The same Alfaisal item reports that a team of two engineering alumnae placed third with a project called "Raqeeb," described as a smart inventory and supply chain system.¹⁷

AI Artathon

The federation's 2021 portfolio lists an AI Artathon held on January 23, 2020, with 300 contestants from 50 countries competing in creating visual art with artificial intelligence and total prizes of 1,000,000 SAR.¹⁴

Tuwaiq Bootcamps and Platforms

The federation's sites use the Tuwaiq name for a set of bootcamps: the Tuwaiq Programming Bootcamp (linked to satr.codes), the Tuwaiq Cybersecurity Bootcamp (cybersecurity.sa/tuwaiq), the Tuwaiq Data Scientists Bootcamp (bootcamp.sa/data), the 7/7 Bootcamp (bootcamp.sa/77) and the Tuwaiq Youth Bootcamp.¹⁴ The Youth Bootcamp description states an aim to "train 1000 trainee during 2019."¹⁴ The 2021 navigation lists the Satr e-Learning Platform, a Bug Bounty Platform, CyberHub and CoderHub as separate initiatives.¹⁴

Tuwaiq Academy

Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University describes Tuwaiq Academy as "launched in August 2019" through a strategic alliance between the federation and the university, offering bootcamps and certifications across programming, cloud computing, cybersecurity, drones, artificial intelligence, digital fabrication, virtual worlds, data science, quantum computing and UI/UX. The university's page, bearing a 2026 footer when retrieved in October 2026, gives the academy's figures as more than 800,000 registered learners, more than 9,500 certified graduates, more than 500 bootcamps and more than 60 global partnerships.¹⁸ The Tuwaiq name is the one the federation's 2019 and 2021 pages applied to its bootcamps.¹⁴

Drones

The federation's drone work includes the Tuwaiq Drone Challenge. Arab News reported in October 2022 that "The Saudi Federation for Cyber Security and Programming, in collaboration with the German Dronemasters Academy, which has a wealth of drone-related experience, oversaw the challenge's planning and execution."¹⁵

Mentions in United States and United Nations Records

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Qahtani on November 15, 2018 under Executive Order 13818, which "builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act." The press release describes him as "a senior official of the Government of Saudi Arabia who was part of the planning and execution of the operation that led to the killing of Mr. Khashoggi."¹⁹

The UN report by Callamard, A/HRC/41/CRP.1, annexed to the Special Rapporteur's June 19, 2019 report, describes Qahtani as "responsible for social media communications for the Crown Prince" and records that "There is credible evidence that he personally directed a campaign targeting activists and political opponents."⁹ The report states "No conclusion is made as to guilt" regarding him and Mohammed bin Salman.⁹

Later reporting describes Qahtani as the federation's former leader. A summary of the analysis of Jeff Bezos's iPhone by FTI Consulting, reprinted on the website of Senator Chris Murphy, states that the analysis found the device "had been compromised by cybersecurity tools linked to Saud al Qahtani, a close friend of bin Salman and the former president and chairman of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones."²⁰ A UN statement of January 22, 2020, reported by CNBC, said that FTI reported "with medium to high confidence" that the phone was compromised by malware sent from a WhatsApp account used by Mohammed bin Salman.²¹