Bahrain is making an early move in the global race to quantum-safe security. The kingdom’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) has announced a strategic partnership with SandboxAQ to modernize national cybersecurity infrastructure and prepare for the coming disruption of quantum computing.

The deal positions Bahrain among the first countries to operationalize post-quantum cryptography at a national scale—well ahead of the moment known as “Q-Day,” when quantum computers are expected to break today’s encryption standards. While that milestone may still be years away, governments are already vulnerable to “harvest-now, decrypt-later” attacks, where encrypted data stolen today can be cracked in the future.

Under the partnership, Bahrain will deploy SandboxAQ’s AQtive Guard platform across more than 60 ministry environments. The AI-driven system is designed to identify cryptographic weaknesses, manage non-human digital identities, and secure sensitive data across government and private-sector systems as AI and quantum risks accelerate.

Officials say the initiative goes beyond setting strategy. “This partnership marks a significant milestone in securing Bahrain’s sovereign data and digital assets,” said Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, CEO of the NCSC.

SandboxAQ executives described Bahrain’s approach as a model for cyber resilience—one that treats quantum threats as an immediate operational challenge, not a future problem.