Bahrain NCSC partners with SandboxAQ on post-quantum cybersecurity programme

Bahrain’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) and SandboxAQ have announced a partnership to support a nationwide cybersecurity modernisation framework, with a focus on strengthening cryptographic security and preparing government systems for the post-quantum era.

Under the agreement, Bahrain will deploy SandboxAQ’s AQtive Guard platform across more than 60 distinct ministry environments, with the stated aim of improving visibility into cryptographic exposure and addressing vulnerabilities linked to weak or outdated encryption, as well as risks tied to the growing use of AI agents and “non-human identities” in digital systems.

The announcement is framed around “Q-Day” — the point at which cryptographically relevant quantum computers could break widely used encryption. The press note cites estimates that such systems could be feasible “by as early as 2029,” while also highlighting “harvest-now, decrypt-later” attacks, where encrypted data is collected now with the intent to decrypt it later.

His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, CEO of the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) of Bahrain, commented: “This partnership with SandboxAQ marks a significant milestone in our mission to secure our sovereign data, intellectual property, and other digital assets from both internal and external cyber threats. SandboxAQ’s world-class technologies and expertise in AI-driven cybersecurity will help Bahrain protect its citizens, businesses, and government agencies and lay the foundation for a new era of security and economic growth in the Kingdom.”

SandboxAQ said the programme is designed to move from policy to implementation, with an operational framework intended to help government entities identify cryptographic weaknesses, prioritise remediation, and manage upgrades across multiple environments over time.

Mohammed Aboul-Magd, Vice President of Product, Cybersecurity at SandboxAQ, added: “Bahrain is taking a bold and much-needed step by not only setting policy, but by operationalising the technology required to secure the Kingdom against rapidly advancing threats. Our partnership establishes a dynamic framework that allows the country to adapt quickly as new vulnerabilities emerge, ensuring the nation stays ahead of attackers in a world where cryptographic risks evolve by the day. We are honoured to support Shaikh Salman and the Government of Bahrain in implementing this forward-looking programme, which sets a new benchmark for cyber resilience across the region.”

Regional context

The Bahrain cybersecurity agreement follows other SandboxAQ announcements in the Gulf. In October 2025, SandboxAQ and Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat announced a partnership at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh focused on AI-enabled drug discovery.

Separately, Aramco and SandboxAQ announced an AI agreement in January 2025, with the companies saying it followed discussions during FII8 in Riyadh.

For Bahrain, the near-term impact will largely come down to execution across a complex government IT landscape: mapping where encryption is used, prioritising upgrades, and coordinating change across many ministries, applications, and vendors.

In most public-sector environments, cryptography is embedded across identity systems, certificates, legacy applications, APIs, and third-party services, which can make consistent visibility and remediation difficult without a structured programme.

Another practical outcome is “crypto agility” — the ability to change algorithms and cryptographic configurations without disrupting essential services. That matters because post-quantum transitions are typically staged, and government systems still need to interoperate with banks, telecoms providers, cloud platforms, and international partners that may adopt new standards on different timelines.

There is also an institutional dimension. Rolling out cryptographic controls across ministries usually requires consistent policy, procurement discipline, and auditability — not only tooling. If the programme establishes repeatable processes for inventory, remediation, and compliance reporting, it can strengthen how cyber risk is measured and managed in day-to-day operations.

Overall, the press note emphasises readiness and long-lived data protection, rather than making a single hard prediction about quantum timelines.