Saudi Arabia’s KAUST in global chip-development effort to thwart hackers

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People work on computers on January 22, 2019 in Lille, during the 11th International Cybersecurity Forum. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 12 August 2020
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Saudi Arabia’s KAUST in global chip-development effort to thwart hackers

  • Quantum computers are likely to be able to crack existing communication methods in the near future
  • KAUST contributing to designing of computer chip capable of foiling security threats from quantum computers

DUBAI: Scientists from one of Saudi Arabia’s most prestigious academic institutions are part of an international chip-designing team that is spearheading efforts to put hackers out of business.

The goal of the KAUST team is to design an optical computer chip that can withstand security threats from quantum computers, which many believe will be able to crack existing communication methods in the near future.

The optical chips enable information to be sent from one user to another via a one-time, unhackable mode of communication in “perfect secrecy.”

This allows confidential data to be protected more securely than ever before on public classical communication channels.

The scientists’ proposed system uses silicon chips containing complex structures that are irreversibly changed to send information in a one-time key that can neither be recreated nor intercepted by an attacker.

The results, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, open a new route toward implementing “perfect secrecy” cryptography on a global scale whose costs are economical too.

“This new technique is absolutely unbreakable, as we rigorously demonstrated in our article,” said Andrea di Falco, a professor with the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St. Andrews and first author of the study.

“It can be used to protect the confidentiality of communications exchanged by users separated by any distance, at an ultrafast speed close to the light limit and in inexpensive and electronic compatible optical chips.”

Although not used yet, the scientists have filed a patent besides the paper in “Nature Communications.”

They are now in discussion with companies in the UK and US, in addition to being in contact with a company in Saudi Arabia.

“It could help governments as well,” said Dr. Andrea Fratalocchi, associate professor of electrical engineering at KAUST and co-author of the research paper.

“This technology, if implemented on a large scale, can put hackers out of business because it will create an impenetrable layer that no one can break.”

With the right funding, prototypes can be deployed with high technological readiness within a couple of years.

Current standard cryptographic techniques allow information to be sent quickly, but chances are they will be hacked by future computers and quantum algorithms.

Redha Al-Ibrahim, a 24-year-old Saudi Ph.D. student at KAUST, said the drive to produce smaller and more efficient chips to enable powerful computing in small devices has led to the development of quantum computers.

"Today, tech giants possess the resources and talent to build quantum computers and use them to perform tasks (earlier) believed to be impossible even with the world's most powerful machines," he told Arab News.

"Some of these tasks involving breaking today's most powerful encryption codes used by everyone daily to keep their information safe and their resources secure."

The research team said that their new method for encrypting data is unbreakable and uses existing communication networks, plus takes up less network space than traditional encrypted communications do.

The chip can be used by private customers who perform bank transactions, for instance, or in the military field, among others, which uses confidential information.

“It’s based on integrated chips used on the sender and receiver,” Fratalocchi said.

FASTFACT

Optical Chips

Promise many advantages over their electronic counterparts, including reduced power consumption and processing speedups.

“The chips allow the exchange, on a public channel, of a key between the two people. The key is random; it’s different every time and no one can infer it from the communication exchanged between the two.”

With this key, users can encode information in a way that no other user can decode. The security of this scheme is of the type “perfect secrecy,” a security that can be mathematically proven to never be broken — not by any user nor by technological advance.

Fratalocchi said that three models of security are commonly used currently, adding that it would become possible to decrypt encrypted messages using a protocol called “mathematical security” in a few years.

“This type of security is the one used in many symmetric key cryptographic protocols, such as the one used by the United States to encrypt confidential information,” he said.

“Another security protocol is defined as ‘probable security,’ which is employed in many public key cryptographies, such as in bank transactions.

“All these paradigms are not based on unconditional proofs and are vulnerable to technological development.

“No one can anticipate the technology of tomorrow. An attacker can just save the data of today and wait until the right technology is available to decrypt the information.”

Fratalocchi’s research belongs to the third category, ”perfect secrecy,” which is the sturdiest of them all.

Developed by Frank Miller in 1882, during the age of telegraphy, and patented in 1919 by Gilbert Vernam, it is called the one-time pad (OTP) or the Vernam cipher.




In this picture taken on May 8, 2017, smartphone chip component circuits are handled by a worker at the Oppo factory in Dongguan. (AFP/File Photo)

At the time, Vernam claimed it was unbreakable but could not prove it mathematically.

The proof became available in the late 1940s.

“What we did is to create a physical implementation of the Vernam cipher and experimentally prove it,” Fratalocchi told Arab News.

“With the advent of more powerful and quantum computers, all current encryptions will be broken in very short time, exposing the privacy of our present and, more importantly, past communications.”

Fratalocchi said that an attacker might store an encrypted message sent today and wait for the right technology to become available to decipher the communication.

“Implementing massive and affordable resources of global security is a worldwide problem that this research has the potential to solve for everyone, and everywhere,” he said.

The new method uses the classical laws of physics — the second law of thermodynamics in particular — to protect the messages.

Keys generated by the chip, which unlock each message, are never stored nor communicated with the message, nor can they ever be recreated, even by the users themselves. This adds an extra level of security.

“A novel form of security must be made available for the future, when current technologies becomes obsolete, making everyone's information vulnerable,” Al-Ibrahim told Arab News.

“This research introduces a new form of security, which depends on a random, unpredictable physical structure that is made uniquely for each individual.”

Fratalocchi said Saudi Arabia is an interesting country for researchers of his ilk because its informatic infrastructure is quite advanced.

“Here, you can perform almost any task online or from any ATM, ranging from any type of government service to paying fines,” he said.

“In Europe, cyber development in the government sector is not as advanced. Saudi Arabia would be an excellent user of this perfect secrecy system for securing any type of communication.”




In this picture taken on May 8, 2017, smartphone chip component circuits are handled by a worker at the Oppo factory in Dongguan. (AFP/File Photo)

The team is currently working on developing commercial applications of the patented technology, a fully functional demo and user-friendly software for the system.

“We are confident of our results,” Fratalocchi said.

“The work took a very long time. I started the idea of using a complex system for communicating security in my post-doctoral research, which was funded from an award that I won from the Enrico Fermi Center for Study and Research in Rome.”

When he moved to KAUST in 2011, Fratalocchi worked on it with Valerio Mazzone, his Ph.D. student, and their collaborators in the UK and the US. It took about five years, with trial and error, to discover the correct system.

“The main difficulty was to find a system that would scale up and could be used on users separated by arbitrary distances,” Fratalocchi said.

“The most important experiment happened around three years ago, when we found the correct configuration in a scalable system that wasn’t too expensive.”

Looking to the future, Dr. Aluizio Cruz, co-founder and CEO of the Center for Unconventional Processes of Sciences (CUP Sciences) in California and co-author of the Nature Communications report, said: “This system is the practical solution the cybersecurity sector has been waiting for since the perfect secrecy theoretical proof” by Vernam.

Cruz added: “It will be a key candidate to solving global cybersecurity threats, from private to national security, all the way to smart energy grids.”

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@CalineMalek


How emerging AI talent is shaping the future of smart healthcare in Saudi Arabia

Updated 13 June 2025
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How emerging AI talent is shaping the future of smart healthcare in Saudi Arabia

  • HuLP is an AI tool enabling doctors to refine cancer predictions in real-time, improving accuracy and trust
  • Med-YOLOWorld is a universal AI imaging tool that reads nine medical scan types at 70 frames per second

RIYADH: As Saudi Arabia accelerates its investment in AI-powered healthcare, two young researchers from the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence are building the very tools that hospitals in the Kingdom will soon need — intelligent, interpretable, and scalable systems for diagnosis and prognosis.

Although the university’s 2025 cohort did not include Saudi nationals this year, the work of two standout graduates, Mohammed Firdaus Ridzuan and Tooba Tehreem Sheikh, directly aligns with Saudi Arabia’s healthcare transformation plans under Vision 2030.

Their research offers practical, forward-looking solutions for the Kingdom’s next generation of smart hospitals.

At a time when AI systems are being deployed across diagnostic units in Saudi hospitals, from the King Faisal Specialist Hospital to new initiatives backed by the Saudi Data and AI Authority, the focus is shifting from capability to clarity.

Can the systems provide real-time support? Can they explain their reasoning? Can doctors intervene? These are the questions both Ridzuan and Sheikh have set out to answer.

Ridzuan, a PhD graduate in machine learning, developed Human-in-the-Loop for Prognosis, or HuLP for short — a cancer survival prediction system that places doctors back at the center of AI-powered decision-making.

“While AI has made significant strides in diagnosing diseases, predicting individual survival outcomes, especially in cancer, is still a challenging task,” Ridzuan told Arab News. “Our model addresses this by enabling real-time clinician intervention.”

Unlike traditional models that operate in isolation, HuLP is built for collaboration. Medical professionals can adjust and refine its predictions using their clinical expertise. These adjustments are not just temporary; they influence how the model evolves.

“Doctors and medical professionals can actively engage with the system,” Ridzuan said. “Their insights don’t just influence the result — they actually help the model learn.”

This approach to human-AI partnership ensures that predictions remain explainable, context-aware, and grounded in patient-specific realities, a key need for Saudi hospitals integrating AI at scale.

“By allowing clinicians to dynamically adjust predictions, we create a more adaptive and responsive system that can handle local challenges,” Ridzuan added.

The Kingdom’s healthcare institutions are undergoing a digital transformation driven by national entities like SDAIA, the Ministry of Health, and the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Innovation.

These entities are focused not only on adopting new AI tools but also on ensuring that these systems can integrate into clinical workflows. This is where Ridzuan sees HuLP making an impact.

“Smart hospitals are already integrating AI diagnostic tools for medical imaging and patient data analysis,” he said. “Our model can take this to the next level by empowering clinicians to interact with and guide the system’s predictions.”

In settings where trust and transparency are vital, Ridzuan’s collaborative model could help hospitals overcome one of AI’s most persistent problems: the black box effect.

This refers to the opaque nature of certain systems, particularly in the field of AI, where the internal workings and decision-making processes are hidden or unknown.

The emphasis on local relevance also comes through in HuLP’s design. Ridzuan says real-time data from regional healthcare systems is essential for training accurate, context-sensitive models.

“Local data provides insights into the unique health conditions and medical practices within the Gulf region,” he said. “Integrating this data ensures that the AI is attuned to the specific needs and health profiles of patients in the region.”

The system is built to learn continuously. As clinicians correct or refine its predictions, the model updates itself, improving with each interaction. This feedback loop is crucial for real-world deployments, especially in the Gulf, where data quality can be inconsistent.

While Ridzuan is focused on outcomes, Sheikh, an MSc graduate in computer vision, is transforming the way hospitals detect disease in the first place.

Her project, Med-YOLOWorld, is a next-generation imaging system that can read nine types of medical scans in real time.

Unlike traditional radiology AI tools, which are often limited to specific tasks, Med-YOLOWorld operates with open-vocabulary detection. That means it can identify anomalies and organ structures that it has not been explicitly trained on — a key feature for scalability.

“Most models are confined to a single modality like CT or X-ray,” Sheikh told Arab News. “Med-YOLOWorld supports nine diverse imaging types, including ultrasound, dermoscopy, microscopy, and histopathology.”

With support for up to 70 frames per second, the system is designed for clinical deployment in high-demand environments.

Sheikh sees clear potential for its use in Saudi Arabia, where institutions like the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre are already implementing multi-modal AI imaging tools.

“It can seamlessly integrate with existing imaging systems to enable open-vocabulary detection,” she said. “Identifying a wide range of medical findings — even those outside its original training set — is essential for fast-paced clinical environments.”

But building a universal imaging tool came with its own technical hurdles.

“The biggest challenge was managing the diverse preprocessing requirements across imaging modalities,” Sheikh said. “CT and MRI scans need intensity normalization, while ultrasound, dermoscopy, and microscopy have completely different visual characteristics.”

Data imbalance was another issue. While MRI and CT scans are widely available, data for more niche imaging types is scarce. Sheikh tackled this by designing custom augmentation techniques to ensure the model performs consistently across all modalities.

She is now working on combining Med-YOLOWorld with vision-language models, systems that explain what they see in natural language.

“MiniGPT-Med does a great job at explaining radiology images,” she said. “But pairing it with a system like Med-YOLOWorld adds a crucial dimension — open-world localization. Not just describing the issue but pointing to it.”

This fusion could create a powerful end-to-end diagnostic pipeline: detect, explain, and localize. For Saudi hospitals embracing AI-driven imaging, the impact could be transformative.

For Sheikh, the global implications of her work are just as important as the technical achievements. “Med-YOLOWorld reduces the need for large, annotated datasets,” she said. “In fast-scaling healthcare systems, that’s a game-changer.”

By enabling the detection of unseen categories, the system can remain relevant even as new diseases or anomalies emerge. And when combined with language models, it can assist in medical training, annotations, and decision support, all while reducing dependence on expert-labeled data.

This approach could accelerate AI adoption in emerging regions, including across the Gulf and the wider Middle East and North Africa, where access to large datasets and AI-specialized radiologists remains limited.

While MBZUAI is based in the UAE, its alumni are playing a growing role in shaping AI initiatives that extend across the Gulf. Both Ridzuan and Sheikh have demonstrated how innovation, when aligned with clinical realities and regional goals, can scale far beyond the lab.

As Saudi Arabia continues to invest in smart hospitals, real-time imaging, and personalized care, tools like HuLP and Med-YOLOWorld represent the next wave of AI in healthcare: explainable, collaborative, and regionally adaptable.

And with growing partnerships between research institutions, healthcare providers, and government entities, these systems may not be far from deployment in the Kingdom, paving the way for a more intelligent, human-centered approach to medical care.
 

 


Pilgrims through the lens: How photographers document scenes of faith during Hajj

Updated 13 June 2025
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Pilgrims through the lens: How photographers document scenes of faith during Hajj

MAKKAH: Every year, the holy lands transform into a unique visual spectacle pulsing with faith and human diversity, drawing the world’s eyes to Makkah, where millions of Muslims perform the pilgrimage of Hajj.

During this period of spiritual and human momentum, photographers stand as visual historians, conveying to the world unforgettable scenes through their lenses that capture moments of worship, tears, unity, mercy, and cultural diversity.

Photographer Anas Al-Harthi said: “When I carry my camera during Hajj season, I feel that I am not just documenting an event but painting a grand canvas of faith in human colors from every continent.”

He added: “A photographer during Hajj does not just take a picture — he moves with a deep sense that this shot may remain a witness to a moment that will never be repeated in the pilgrim’s life.”

Photo by Faisal Al-Thaqafi.

Al-Harthi pointed out that the greatest challenge is respecting the sanctity of the scene without interfering with it, which requires a high artistic sense and an appreciation of place, time and situation.

Photographer Anas Bakhsh said that the experience of photographing during Hajj places the photographer at the heart of human emotion.

“Thousands of faces pass before you, and each face carries a story, every tear bears a prayer, and every movement expresses longing and contentment. Sometimes I feel that the photo I took is an answered prayer for someone in a moment of complete submission to God.”

He said that the scene forever engraved in his memory is when crowds gather on the plain of Arafat at the same time, a majestic sight where differences between people dissolve and the sounds of Talbiyah and supplication rise.

Photographer Faisal Al-Thaqafi said that professional photography during Hajj is not only about technical skill, but also about cultural and religious awareness, and the ability to engage with the scene with the spirit of a believing photographer. “The photographer during Hajj is not just a professional holding a camera — he is an eye pulsing with faith, translating emotion into imagery.”

He added: “Sometimes you capture an image of an elderly pilgrim raising his hands to the sky, and you realize that this photo will remain in people’s hearts more than any commentary or report — because it is sincere, pure, and simple.”

The three photographers agree that the logistical challenges — crowds, heat, and problems involving mobility — do not stand in the way of their passion. Instead, they drive them to exert double the effort to document this unique event.

Bakhsh said: “Every season, I return home with thousands of photos, but I keep only one or two for myself — those images that I feel touched something inside me and perhaps touched the hearts of millions around the world.”

Photo by Faisal Al-Thaqafi.

Al-Thaqafi said that a successful photograph during Hajj is not only one of high visual quality, but one that conveys a genuine emotion. “The strongest images are those that do not need an explanation. You see a pilgrim smiling or crying, and you feel your heart tremble.”

Al-Harthi believes that a photograph can change the world’s perception of Hajj and bring this great ritual closer to non-Muslims as well, saying: “We are not working only for documentation — we are working to build a human bridge, where the spirit of Islam is shown through an honest and professional lens.”

With these sincere lenses, the Hajj season becomes an open exhibition of spirituality, where photos tell stories that words cannot express, and bear witness to the greatest annual human gathering, where everyone is equal in attire, and united in purpose: seeking mercy and forgiveness.

Amid this visual momentum created by photographers through their lenses, the impact of these images is also felt by the pilgrims themselves and by millions of followers on social media. Syrian pilgrim Omar Al-Kadeeb, from Deir Ezzor, said: “Photos of relatives who performed the pilgrimage in the holy sites and near the Kaaba reached my family and friends within minutes and spread widely. At that moment, we felt like we were part of their spiritual journey despite the distance.” He added: “I saw images taken of pilgrims from all nationalities, and I found myself moving emotionally through the scenes — from a father crying in prayer, to a child smiling in Arafat, to a woman raising her hands to the sky in a profoundly moving moment that cannot be described.”

Photos by Faisal Al-Thaqafi, center shot, and Anas Al-Harthi.

Al-Kadeeb said that the professional photos shared by photographers on platforms such as X, Instagram and TikTok enhance the status of Hajj in people’s hearts and make it feel more relatable and more meaningful to the viewer — even if they are not performing Hajj themselves.

“I believe every beautiful image from Hajj is an indirect invitation for people to dream of Hajj and to realize the greatness of this immense pillar,” Al-Kadeeb said.

He concluded with high praise for the photographers: “They are not just professionals — they are messengers of peace and beauty, delivering the message in today’s universal language: a photo.”


KSrelief clinics help refugees in Jordan

Updated 12 June 2025
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KSrelief clinics help refugees in Jordan

AMMAN: The clinics of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center provided healthcare services to 2,789 patients in Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan during the first week of May.

The general medicine clinics received 778 patients, while the internal medicine clinic treated 128 patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma.

The pediatric clinics received 226 children, 131 patients visited dental clinics, and 312 women were treated by the two women’s health clinics.

The ear, nose, and throat clinic received 66 patients suffering from sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and middle ear infections. The ophthalmology clinic saw 37 patients.

The cardiology clinic received 15 patients, the diagnostic radiology clinic received 37 patients, and the rehabilitation medicine clinic also treated 37 patients.

A total of 3,245 laboratory tests were conducted for 284 patients, and 217 imaging procedures, including X-ray and ultrasound examinations, were performed for 184 patients. 


Shanghai Film Festival: Saudi Arabia to boost cultural cooperation with China

Updated 12 June 2025
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Shanghai Film Festival: Saudi Arabia to boost cultural cooperation with China

RIYADH: The Saudi Film Commission has announced its participation in the Shanghai International Film Festival, which will be held from June 13 to 22 in Shanghai, China.

The event is the largest film festival in China and the only Chinese festival accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

By participating, the commission aims to enhance cultural cooperation, strengthen international ties, and promote the visual and geographic richness of the Kingdom’s film locations. It also plans to explore co-production and distribution opportunities for Saudi films in the Chinese market.

The Saudi pavilion will be a platform to display the commission’s programs and initiatives, engage with industry professionals, and highlight the creative and commercial potential of the Kingdom’s film sector.

This participation underscores the commission’s commitment to supporting the Kingdom’s film industry by engaging with key international platforms, empowering local talent, and fostering global cultural exchange.


Saudi king, crown prince extend condolences to Indian president after air crash

Rescue officials carry a victim’s body at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport.
Updated 12 June 2025
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Saudi king, crown prince extend condolences to Indian president after air crash

  • The Air India passenger plane bound for London with more than 240 people on board crashed and exploded after takeoff and there was only one survivor

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman extended their condolences to Indian President Droupadi Murmu after a plane crashed after takeoff in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The Air India passenger plane bound for London with more than 240 people on board crashed and exploded after takeoff and only one person survived, officials said.

Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed into a medical college hostel and burst into flames near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat.

In separate cables, the king and crown prince extended their condolences to Murmu, the families of the deceased, and to the Indian people. They also wished the injured a speedy recovery.

The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry also expressed its condolences to India after the incident.

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