The 'Sahl' Service and the Cyber War

Technology has advanced significantly worldwide and has permeated every aspect of human life, in both peace and war. Machines now perform tasks better than humans, and Kuwait is no exception. We take pride in the fact that the government application “Sahl” has won two Gulf awards: 1) The award for the best comprehensive government application, and 2) The award for excellence in the best government digital service. These digital services demonstrate the government’s commitment to engaging with citizens, facilitating and delivering high-quality services, and saving time and effort for everyone.

Under its reform agenda, Kuwait is racing ahead of others along three paths. The first path involves addressing the vast number of violations and encroachments on laws, including amending certain laws to make them clearer and more beneficial for Kuwait and its citizens, thereby ending the chaos that characterized previous decades. The second path entails reviewing and reforming files related to citizenship, academic certificates, and individuals with special needs, along with adjusting certain positions to provide better services to citizens, starting from infrastructure and roads to health and education. The third and most important path, especially during periods of regional tension, is to ensure that technology and all information and smart applications provided via internet networks serve and facilitate citizens’ lives through government companies and entities. Its benefits include: 1) Saving time, effort, and money by enabling transactions to be completed at any time and from any location; 2) Supporting the economy, developing telecommunications infrastructure, and accelerating commercial transactions; 3) Saving institutions and companies time and operational service costs; and 4) Keeping citizens informed about all their affairs through “Sahl” notifications.

At the same time, security risks must be addressed, such as online fraud, hacker attacks, and the most serious threat: criminals hiding their identities to target financial institutions, invade people’s privacy, steal bank card numbers, embezzle funds, or destroy targeted networks, such as government systems and civil data. In the military domain, specialists handle protecting the country from global criminals, developing military training systems, combating cyber warfare, and countering biased rumors and lies against the nation.

Therefore, I urge the respected National Cybersecurity Authority to demonstrate its efforts to citizens, engage with them, and raise awareness through bulletins, messages, courses, and similar initiatives to enhance cyber awareness. Cybercrime laws and conditions for opening social media accounts should also be revised. Additionally, training on cyber warfare and prevention of cybercrimes should be integrated into awareness campaigns in schools and media, along with educating the public on the safe use of artificial intelligence and warning against spreading electronic rumors that harm the nation and its people.