CASE STUDY
Bahrain is demonstrating that post-quantum readiness is not a future discussion but it’ s a national resilience priority that can be operationalised today. critical services first. By building this capability now, we are protecting trust in digital services, safeguarding national data, and strengthening the foundations of Bahrain’ s digital economy.
Why is it critical for the Bahrain government to act now against‘ harvest-now, decrypt-later’ threats?
Technological developments are evolving globally, and it is prudent for all governments to plan ahead for potential future cybersecurity challenges. Some actors may try to collect encrypted data now with the expectation that future advances in computing could make certain types of decryption more feasible. This could affect information that requires long-term protection, including government services and citizen data. Taking early, proactive measures reflects good governance and responsible stewardship of national digital assets, helping ensure continued trust, data protection and system resilience as technology continues to advance.
What risks do post-quantum cryptographic challenges pose to Bahrain’ s national data and critical infrastructure?
Post-quantum cryptographic developments are widely recognised as a global challenge that governments and institutions around the world are preparing for. Over time, these changes may affect some of the cryptographic protections that secure government communications, digital identity systems, transactions and trusted digital services. For critical infrastructure, this could have implications for secure access, device authentication, software updates and the integrity of operational systems. These issues go beyond confidentiality to include integrity and trust, and if not addressed proactively, could affect service continuity, public confidence and the reliability of essential services.
How will deploying AQtive Guard across more than 60 ministries strengthen national cyber-resilience?
Deploying a unified platform across ministries creates a consistent national standard for cryptographic governance. It strengthens resilience by delivering visibility across environments, identifying weak or outdated cryptography, prioritising remediation and reducing fragmentation across agencies. Instead of each entity working in isolation, we gain a co-ordinated, risk-based approach enabling faster decision-making, measurable progress, and stronger assurance that critical government services remain secure as threats evolve.
What role does AI play in managing cryptographic risk at sovereign scale?
At the sovereign level, across government systems and critical infrastructure, the challenge lies in the scale and interdependence of essential digital services. AI can support this environment by improving visibility into cryptographic usage, identifying dependencies and helping prioritise modernisation efforts based on risk and criticality. It can also assist with continuous monitoring, early detection of weaknesses, and policy-informed decision support, enabling more co-ordinated and timely responses across agencies. In this way, AI helps shift cryptographic transition from a largely manual, fragmented process to a more structured, forward-looking capability that supports national resilience and service continuity.
How do you see Bahrain’ s approach influencing regional and global cybersecurity strategies?
Bahrain is demonstrating that post-quantum readiness is not a future discussion but it’ s a national resilience priority that can be operationalised today. By taking a co-ordinated, government-wide approach, we are providing a model for how countries can move from awareness to implementation: assess risk, build governance, deploy at scale and measure progress. We believe this will encourage regional peers and global partners to accelerate their own quantum-safe roadmaps, strengthen standards adoption and deepen cross-border collaboration on emerging cyber-risks. •
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INTELLIGENT CIO MIDDLE EAST www. intelligentcio. com