IronNet website has revealed that the former US National Security Agency chief Keith Alexander worked out a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the cyber institute led by one of his closest aides, Saud al-Qahtani, to help the Saudi ruler train the next generation of Saudi hackers in early 2018, months before journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
Alexander officially inked the deal with the Prince Mohammed bin Salman College of Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Advanced Technologies — a school set up to train Saudi cyber intelligence agents — at a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., according to an announcement in early July.
The report pointed out that Saudi Arabia’s agreement with IronNet was part of a host of moves to step up its cyber capabilities, coinciding with a campaign against the kingdom’s critics abroad. Khashoggi, then a Washington Post columnist and prominent Salman critic, received a series of threatening messages, including one from Qahtani, warning him to remain silent.
IronNet’s agreement tied to the alleged mastermind behind the killing of Khashoggi is not listed on the IronNet website, and it is not known if the business relationship still stands — or what the extent of it ever was. IronNet and representatives of the Saudi government did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The report quoted former IronNet employees as saying that the Saudi relationship has largely been shrouded in secrecy, even within the firm.
Qahtani acts on MBS’ behalf
The report further suggests that Qahtani’s role as enforcer on behalf of bin Salman, well known prior to the Khashoggi slaying, has closely followed the young prince’s meteoric rise as the effective leader of Saudi Arabia.
Qahtani took the helm of official state-backed efforts to expand Saudi Arabia’s cyber offensive capabilities in October 2017, when he was named president of a committee called the Electronic Security and Software Alliance, later renamed the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones.
Earlier this year, SAFCSP signed an agreement with Spire Solutions, a consulting firm that partners with a wide range of cyber intelligence contractors. Haboob, another cyber venture promoted by Qahtani, is a private venture that recruits hackers on behalf of the Saudi government. Haboob’s chair, Naif bin Lubdah, is on SAFCSP’s board of directors.
MBS’ extravagant spending
Observes have recently raised concerns over the Crown Prince’s extravagant spending on espionage activities and repression campaigns after several western media sources revealed the Saudi unprecedented spending over the past few years.
Reuters news agency has revealed that NEOM Tech & Digital, a subsidiary of the $500 billion signature NEOM project of the Saudi crown prince, has invested $1 billion in 2022 in AI, including a metaverse platform.
The Wall Street Journal also said that MBS spent $50 million on his accession ceremony.
The paper further revealed that boats carrying some 150 women, from Brazil, Russia and elsewhere, docked in the summer of 2015 at Velaa Private Island, an opulent Maldives resort. Upon arrival, each woman was driven in a golf cart to a clinic, tested for sexually transmitted diseases and settled into a private villa.
For its part, the New York Times said that MBS bought the Chateau Louis XIV for over $300 million in 2015.
The 2015 purchase appears to be one of several extravagant acquisitions — including a $500 million yacht and a $450 million Leonardo da Vinci painting — by a prince who is leading a sweeping crackdown on corruption and self-enrichment by the Saudi elite and preaching fiscal austerity at home, according to the US paper.
Saudi austerity measures
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia decided to triple its value added tax rate and suspend a cost-of-living allowance for state employees.
The cost of living allowance will be suspended as of June 1, and the value added tax will be increased to 15 percent from 5 percent as of July 1, according to the state news agency.
The austerity measures being introduced come despite the unprecedented extravagant spending by the Kingdom’s de facto ruler.
