Under the patronage of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) convened the fifth National Cyber Governance and Assurance Affairs (NCGAA) conference on October 5, 2026. The event, themed "Securing the Digital Future in an Era of Convergence," brought together senior government officials, industry representatives, and cybersecurity experts from across the nation.
Attendees included Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed al-Mannai and NCSA President Eng. Abdulrahman bin Ali al-Farahid al-Malki. The conference served as a platform for launching key initiatives aimed at bolstering Qatar’s cybersecurity framework, including the unveiling of the national and institutional cybersecurity risk management frameworks.
In his opening remarks, al-Malki emphasized that securing the digital future extends beyond traditional protective measures. He highlighted the importance of fostering confidence, continuity, and adaptability within the cyber environment. Achieving this, he said, requires a proactive approach centered on innovation, information exchange, expertise sharing, and strengthening national capacities through public-private collaboration. Reinforcing cyber resilience, according to al-Malki, supports innovation, economic growth, and maintains societal trust in digital services and infrastructure.
Eng. Dana Yousef al-Abdulla, Director of National Cyber Governance and Assurance Affairs at the NCSA, linked cybersecurity to Qatar’s broader development goals under the Qatar National Vision 2030. She described cybersecurity as encompassing service continuity, infrastructure protection, and trust-building in the digital economy. Al-Abdulla noted the growing complexity of cyber threats facing critical sectors and stressed that addressing these challenges requires coordinated efforts among regulators, industry players, and technology providers.
A significant announcement during the event was a new partnership between the NCSA and the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA), which includes a tailored compliance program for QFMA-regulated entities and supplementary controls to reinforce national cybersecurity standards. Other initiatives unveiled aim to prepare for emerging risks related to the post-quantum computing era and include plans to implement the Operational Technology Cybersecurity Assessment Programme developed by the International Society of Automation (ISA). This programme is designed to enhance security in critical infrastructure sectors while fostering economic opportunities for cybersecurity firms.
The conference also recognized companies achieving compliance certifications under the National Information Assurance (NIA) standard and the Qatar Common Criteria Scheme (QCCS). Additionally, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the NCSA and Crest International to advance cooperation, raise cybersecurity standards, and mutually recognize accreditation requirements for penetration testing service providers.
Panel discussions addressed topics such as digital sovereignty in an interconnected world, post-quantum readiness, regulatory convergence, data governance, artificial intelligence risks, and the allocation of cybersecurity responsibility in a highly interconnected environment. Complementing the sessions, four workshops covered risk management frameworks, certification processes, business innovation in cybersecurity, and evolving data privacy challenges.
Overall, the conference underscored Qatar’s commitment to strengthening its cybersecurity posture through strategic collaboration, regulatory innovation, and capacity building to secure its digital transformation trajectory.