nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month across MENA: Hollywood’s growing interest in the region, Morocco’s growing cybersecurity profile, and a grim milestone set in Saudi Arabia. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here.
Some nations in the Middle East and North Africa are no stranger to movie productions. Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan are long–time filming destinations, and the first Star Wars movies were partly filmed in Tunisia. But there are a growing number of states in the region that have become hot locations for movie making, including, most notably, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Hollywood is attracted by a growing variety of state–provided incentives, an array of pre–scouted locations and a growing pool of talent that continues to grow as more productions are shot in countries in the region. At Neom, Saudi Arabia’s manufactured megacity which has played host to movie productions, there was a policy requiring the employment of Saudi interns, who have gone on to help on other sets and make their own projects.
But just like the movies, not everything is as it seems. The construction of Neom—part of Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” strategic plan—displaced a native population and the city was essentially built on slave labor. Recently the first death of a migrant worker at the site was documented, and companies active at NEOM have been warned of “political and reputation risks” from being involved in the project. Recently Neom’s CEO stepped down, although that seems more related to budget issues than human rights abuses. The region’s movie industry development is far from its final act.
Morocco a rising hacker haven—and cybersecurity target
Moroccan hackers are growing in notoriety, ranking third Africa wide and tops in North Africa according to Sumsub (Sub and Substance Ltd.) an UK security firm, in its first–ever Global Fraud Index. The nation was labeled a “locus for cybercrime.” at this year’s Sleuthcon Cybercrime Congress by cybersecurity professionals.
Microsoft recently revealed the identity of a Moroccan cybercrime group it calls “Storm–0539” (also known as “Atlas Lion”) that is engaged in financial fraud. “We’re not usually talking about North Africa when it comes to cybercrime,” said Emiel Haeghebaert, Senior Hunt Analyst with Microsoft Threat Intelligence. “So, this is a novel thing and just shows that cyber criminals can be anywhere because it’s becoming easier and easier to be part of that ecosystem.”
At the same time, Morocco is increasingly also a target for cyberattacks, and continues to rank high as a relatively easy target. Earlier this year hackers in neighboring Algeria targeted a water distribution facility in Morocco, in 2023 hackers took down the Moroccan News Agency with a distributed denial–of–service (DDoS) attack, and hackers have also targeted schools and public officials and human rights organizations and activists.
The escalation of tensions with Algeria, as well as the broader cybersecurity threat matrix, has led Morocco to beef up its digital toolset to fight hackers and hacking groups as part of its National Cybersecurity Strategy, including the passage of new laws defining cybercrime and enhancing data protection. Despite these steps, the nation still has much to do as it defines the landscape of its cybersecurity challenges.
Saudi Arabia sets a grim execution milestone
Saudi Arabia has set a grim new record in 2024: It has executed 100 foreigners so far this year (and double that death toll if you include Saudi nationals, notes Amnesty International), a new high in the history of the nation. This despite the 2018 pledge of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman–whose name is frequently abbreviated in the West to “MBS”—to reduce the use of the death penalty (and yes, his name will come up again in this article).
The executed include 21 from Pakistan, 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, nine from Egypt, eight from Jordan, and seven from Ethiopia.
A set of new government bodies and laws, including an incredibly broad “counterterrorism” law from 2017, has enabled this new record. The law criminalized criticism of Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince bin Salman among a host of other punishable offenses, and introduced the death penalty for three offenses. Additionally, Saudi Arabia ended a national moratorium on executions for drug offenders in 2022.
The wave of executions appears to be at the personal behest of Crown Prince bin Salman, even though he has attempted to distance himself from responsibility for the executions. This might be something of a neat trick to pull off, and largely one of public relations, because the laws enabling these executions are literally his laws.
Since the crown prince came to power in 2017, Saudi Arabia has executed at least 1,115 as of October 2024.
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Hollywood’s growing interest in the Middle East, North Africa
Morocco has long been a favorite filming destination for Hollywood—but now Hollywood’s attention is spreading to much of the rest of the region. Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash
December 3, 2024
Diplomatic Courier’s Jeremy Fugleberg brings you three under–the–radar stories from MENA last month: Hollywood’s MENA fixation, Morocco’s cybercrime situation, and record executions in Saudi Arabia.
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nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month across MENA: Hollywood’s growing interest in the region, Morocco’s growing cybersecurity profile, and a grim milestone set in Saudi Arabia. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here.
Some nations in the Middle East and North Africa are no stranger to movie productions. Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan are long–time filming destinations, and the first Star Wars movies were partly filmed in Tunisia. But there are a growing number of states in the region that have become hot locations for movie making, including, most notably, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Hollywood is attracted by a growing variety of state–provided incentives, an array of pre–scouted locations and a growing pool of talent that continues to grow as more productions are shot in countries in the region. At Neom, Saudi Arabia’s manufactured megacity which has played host to movie productions, there was a policy requiring the employment of Saudi interns, who have gone on to help on other sets and make their own projects.
But just like the movies, not everything is as it seems. The construction of Neom—part of Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” strategic plan—displaced a native population and the city was essentially built on slave labor. Recently the first death of a migrant worker at the site was documented, and companies active at NEOM have been warned of “political and reputation risks” from being involved in the project. Recently Neom’s CEO stepped down, although that seems more related to budget issues than human rights abuses. The region’s movie industry development is far from its final act.
Morocco a rising hacker haven—and cybersecurity target
Moroccan hackers are growing in notoriety, ranking third Africa wide and tops in North Africa according to Sumsub (Sub and Substance Ltd.) an UK security firm, in its first–ever Global Fraud Index. The nation was labeled a “locus for cybercrime.” at this year’s Sleuthcon Cybercrime Congress by cybersecurity professionals.
Microsoft recently revealed the identity of a Moroccan cybercrime group it calls “Storm–0539” (also known as “Atlas Lion”) that is engaged in financial fraud. “We’re not usually talking about North Africa when it comes to cybercrime,” said Emiel Haeghebaert, Senior Hunt Analyst with Microsoft Threat Intelligence. “So, this is a novel thing and just shows that cyber criminals can be anywhere because it’s becoming easier and easier to be part of that ecosystem.”
At the same time, Morocco is increasingly also a target for cyberattacks, and continues to rank high as a relatively easy target. Earlier this year hackers in neighboring Algeria targeted a water distribution facility in Morocco, in 2023 hackers took down the Moroccan News Agency with a distributed denial–of–service (DDoS) attack, and hackers have also targeted schools and public officials and human rights organizations and activists.
The escalation of tensions with Algeria, as well as the broader cybersecurity threat matrix, has led Morocco to beef up its digital toolset to fight hackers and hacking groups as part of its National Cybersecurity Strategy, including the passage of new laws defining cybercrime and enhancing data protection. Despite these steps, the nation still has much to do as it defines the landscape of its cybersecurity challenges.
Saudi Arabia sets a grim execution milestone
Saudi Arabia has set a grim new record in 2024: It has executed 100 foreigners so far this year (and double that death toll if you include Saudi nationals, notes Amnesty International), a new high in the history of the nation. This despite the 2018 pledge of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman–whose name is frequently abbreviated in the West to “MBS”—to reduce the use of the death penalty (and yes, his name will come up again in this article).
The executed include 21 from Pakistan, 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, nine from Egypt, eight from Jordan, and seven from Ethiopia.
A set of new government bodies and laws, including an incredibly broad “counterterrorism” law from 2017, has enabled this new record. The law criminalized criticism of Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince bin Salman among a host of other punishable offenses, and introduced the death penalty for three offenses. Additionally, Saudi Arabia ended a national moratorium on executions for drug offenders in 2022.
The wave of executions appears to be at the personal behest of Crown Prince bin Salman, even though he has attempted to distance himself from responsibility for the executions. This might be something of a neat trick to pull off, and largely one of public relations, because the laws enabling these executions are literally his laws.
Since the crown prince came to power in 2017, Saudi Arabia has executed at least 1,115 as of October 2024.
