Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja spoke in Riyadh at the Global Cybersecurity Forum 2025, addressing a session titled “Trust in Action: Reimagining Citizen Services in a Cyber-First World.” She urged practical steps to strengthen cybersecurity as online services become the primary link between governments and citizens.
The minister warned that data breaches and service disruption now rank among the most serious risks to national stability, and called for security to be embedded across the entire lifecycle of citizen services. Emphasis was placed on designing systems so that protection is integral from development through delivery and maintenance.
Shaza Fatima highlighted modern approaches to identity and verification as foundational to trusted digital government services. She stressed the need for secure, federated digital identity frameworks that preserve user privacy while enabling reliable verification across agencies and borders.
On operational readiness she emphasised stronger CERT interlinkages, real-time monitoring and rapid coordination with national CERT teams to limit the impact of incidents. The minister argued that faster information sharing and joint response mechanisms are essential to reduce service downtime and contain breaches.
Looking ahead, Shaza Fatima urged accelerated adoption of advanced security models, including zero trust, quantum-resilient cryptography and secure federated identity. Officials from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia joined the session, underscoring regional collaboration as a key element in advancing cybersecurity for citizen services.
