In the Middle East, where digital transformation is central to national strategies like the UAE’s Digital Economy Agenda and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the security of cryptographic assets is already a frontline issue.

These governments are investing billions in AI, digital infrastructure, and data platforms. But without hardened cryptographic foundations, these investments remain vulnerable to the same threats that have plagued the public sector globally: supply chain compromise, data exfiltration, and identity abuse.

The solution starts not with algorithms, but with visibility and control.

Without cryptographic resilience, all the makings of a modern digital economy — AI-driven innovation, smart cities, and digital finance — are at risk.

An overlooked layer of security

Encryption underpins everything — transactions, communications, citizen data, military systems, and cloud infrastructure. And yet, we don’t manage it like other critical assets. Mismanaged certificates, unknown keys, and outdated ciphers are open doors. And in this region, where geopolitical stakes are high and digital adoption is accelerating, those doors are increasingly attractive targets.

Effective cryptographic defense doesn’t begin with a standard. It starts with an inventory:

Who owns the keys?

What systems rely on them?

When do they expire?

Where are the gaps? 

From there, continuous monitoring is non-negotiable. You can’t implement ‘zero trust’ or protect against data exfiltration without real-time insight into how encryption is functioning across your environments.

Global momentum, regional opportunity

The US government is already executing on this. The NSA has issued mandates for cryptographic transition. The NIST has released guidance not only for post-quantum algorithms, but for managing cryptography holistically. The UK’s NCSC has done the same.

The Middle East has an opportunity to lead — by solving today’s problems while preparing for tomorrow’s. Waiting for the quantum D-day is a dangerous mistake. Malicious actors are already stockpiling encrypted data today, with the intent to break it once quantum computers become viable. Every unsecured key today is a future compromise.

What regulators should do now

Before considering post-quantum readiness, agencies and critical infrastructure operators need modern cryptographic asset management: inventorying, lifecycle controls, expiration monitoring, and enforcement. This lays the groundwork for Zero Trust, strengthens digital identity systems, and drastically reduces the risk of data leaks.

Harden digital supply chain

As Middle Eastern economies scale, so do their vendor ecosystems — and their attack surfaces. Encryption is often the weakest — and most neglected — link. Regulations should require visibility into cryptographic dependencies across suppliers, integrators, and service providers.

Standardize monitoring and response

You can’t defend what you can’t see. Regulators should define minimum standards for cryptographic observability — dashboards, alerting, automated key rotation, and incident response playbooks tied to cryptographic events. Security Operations Centers (SOCs) can reduce reactive triage by continuously monitoring critical elements like expiring certificates through automation.

Educate and align

This isn’t just a CISO’s problem. Regulators, ministry stakeholders, and business leaders must understand that cryptography is akin to securing a national treasury — which, in today’s digital economy, is data. Awareness and workforce development programs should prioritize cryptographic literacy accordingly.

Quantum solutions may be on the horizon, but the data exfiltration crisis is already here. Cryptographic asset mismanagement is silently eroding the momentum of digital transformation across the Middle East. If we want to build resilient digital economies and secure public sector systems, we must start by managing the keys.

And when breaches occur — as they inevitably will — strong cryptographic systems, including those that are future-proofed with post-quantum–resilient algorithms, will be the last line of defense. In the battle for digital security, the keys are either in our hands — or in the hands of our adversaries.

The time is now — not when the next breach hits the headlines.

Kathryn Wang, Special to Gulf News

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