Following the convictions of several in the UK for fomenting terrorism through the Internet, the Saudis are looking into the issue. It’s clear that Saudi government filtering of the Internet isn’t getting the job done, so the search for solutions is expanding. This report from Khaleej Times gives the outline of a conference to be held in November.

There’s no question that the issue is a real one. The same technology that enables liberalization and democratization also enables terrorism. Programs that provide almost perfect encryption to reformists in China also hide information about terrorists. Internet proxies and anonymizers allow people to get around government censorship, but also to avoid legitimate monitoring. There are certianly no good answers yet to the paradoxes raised by technology. Perhaps this international conference can come up with some new ideas.

Riyadh forum to tackle IT, security issues
Habib Shaikh

EDDAH — A four-day conference on Information Technology and National Security will be held in Riyadh in November.

Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, chief of intelligence and chairman of the organising committee, said in a statement that the conference, to be held from November 3 to 6, was part of the kingdom’s drive against terrorism via the Internet and other security issues.

He said some 1,000 delegates, including IT experts from the kingdom and abroad are expected to attend the conference at the King Fahd Cultural Centre.

…Prince Muqrin said that one of the goals of the conference was to “encourage researchers in modern technology to use it in such a way as to serve national security in a comprehensive manner.”
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