Fifty percent of Internet users in Saudi Arabia are less than 20 years old, and many of them have advanced computer skills and are capable of committing cyber crimes, said Dr. Dhaifullah Al-Zahrani, deputy governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) for Legal Affairs. He said this while talking to a number of specialists and officials about new regulations in communications and information usage in the Kingdom during a workshop on cyber crime held at the Jeddah Chamber for Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Tuesday. “There are two types of cyber criminals,” said Al-Zahrani. “The first type, who are usually users of young age, access other databases out of curiosity or as a hobby. The other type, may be of the same age, but they have a more sinister purpose. They attack other computers for information for financial (fraud), personal (threatening, blackmailing) or doctrinal purposes. This type of cyber criminal is the most dangerous,” he said. Al-Zahrani said victims of cyber crimes usually do not report to authorities that their databases have been accessed by hackers fearing for their reputation or for other personal reasons as the hackers may be blackmailing them. Also, as in many cases, the victims only learn about the crime long after their data has been accessed, he said. “We were ordered by King Abdullah to prepare a separate legal regulation for cyber crimes,” said Al-Zahrani. “The regulation is meant to protect information security, the national economy and public morality in general,” he explained. Al-Zahrani said that penalties for cyber crimes range from a one-year prison term or a fine of SR500,000 to a ten-year prison term or a fine of SR5,000,000 depending on the nature of the crime. Regarding the motivation of cyber criminals, Major General Ali Al-Ghamdi, Jeddah Police Director, said that unemployment is not the main reason for committing such crimes. “We don't have clear statistics about the percentage of cyber criminals who are unemployed, but I don't think it is the main reason since this type of crime can be done in offices during working hours,” said Al
