The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz is patronizing the Information technology and National Security Conference (ITNSC) which is organized by the General Intelligence Presidency (GIP) during the period from 21 to 24/11/1428, being 1 to 4/12/2007. The GIP president HRH Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz said the conference aims at informing the security personnel of the latest developments in the field of information technology, exchanging experience and information among workers in the security sectors, as well as finding communication channels between researchers in the field of information technology and security personnel.

He said the conference topics include the role of IT in promoting social security, promoting economic security, promoting political security, IT in the service of security personnel, and the technical applications in the field of national security.

He said in an opening speech for a press conference on Saturday 24/ 11/2007 that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has directed that the name of the occasion to be changed from the Information Technology and National Security Forum (ITNSF), as had been proposed, to the Information Technology and National Security Conference (ITNSC). زThe Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques authorized me to invite all intelligence presidents in the sisterly and friendly countriesس, he said.

Conference Timing

As for the timing of the conference, he said the new developments towards an electronic work environment in both public and private sectors necessitate that GIP, as a productive and effective sector, must cope with such developments and participate in studying the impacts of the electronic developments on the system of the national security in its comprehensive concept.

"We aware the relation between utilizing modern information technology and the political, security, economic, and social statesس, he said. زOne of the main factors for convening the conference in this time is what have been revealed by studies that the world will move during the third millennium towards what has been named as the space universal security. We, therefore, must work to be participants in the electronic knowledge rather than being consumersس.

He said GIP is open to the society and works for the interest of both the nation and the citizen, adding that GIP is a vital sector that works in coordination with the media and the intellectuals for enlightening people on the positive and negative aspects of information technology.

KSA Efforts

As for the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in utilizing information technology, Prince Muqrin said the Kingdom, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince, has been concerned with introducing the applications of information technology in both public and private sectors, notifying that the 1424 Royal Order included the setting of a plan for dealing with governmental transactions and services electronically. زThe government has worked for establishing a suitable work environment for IT applications through formulating the necessary legislations and regulationsس, he said.

He said the conference is organized on the occasion the 50th anniversary of the establishment of GIP, confirming that the conference aims at implanting confidence and removing the barriers hindering the effective relationship between the GIP personnel and the citizens. زWe want to educate our people on the ways of protecting our young generation against the negative impacts of the Internetس, he said.

Contacting GIP

As regarding the ways for contacting GIP, Prince Muqrin said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Adulaziz will launch the GIP website, which will include a link for contacting with the citizens. He stressed the importance of covering the gap between the security bodies and the digital media.

He said GIP will not have an official speaker for responding to reumours circulated through websites and web blogs. We are concerned with the citizen who has a certain problem. The conference will educate the fathers and mothers and urge them to bear their responsibilities, he said.

As for the rumours circulated through some websites and the role of governmental bodies in confronting them he said such role is the job of the media rather than the government.

He confirmed the importance of convening IT relative symposia for combating crimes, pointing out that the aim behind such symposia is to aware people against the dangers involved in information technology.

He said GIP will not work with private companies in the field of information technology. The conference has its sponsors of IT specialists and the accompanying exhibition includes their displays, he said. زYou are all invited to visit it to see their contributions to the field of information technology. They had been granted certain advantages and displayed their products accordingly, but we will not be mediators for them.

He said the conference further aims at obtaining research studies on information security and information technology. We demanded 30 papers for the conference but received 160", he said. زWe selected 83 papers out of them and 38 papers will be presented for discussion. The workshops will also continue for 3.