Safeguarding cyberspace: Bangladesh’s preparedness today

It begins like any other morning. Bank counters open, mobile payments start to move, government offices log into their systems - and then, without warning, the screens freeze. Transactions collapse mid-process. Communication networks falter. Critical databases fall silent. Within minutes, uncertainty spreads faster than any physical alarm. No bombs fall, no borders are crossed, no troops are visible-yet the disruption is swift, coordinated, and nationwide.

In today’s hyper-connected world, such a moment is no longer the stuff of science fiction or distant conflicts. It signals a new kind of threat-one that strikes at a nation’s digital foundations. As Bangladesh’s governance, economy, and public services grow ever more dependent on technology, the capacity to withstand and recover from large-scale digital attacks has become inseparable from the very idea of national security itself.

The pressing question, therefore, is whether Bangladesh is prepared to face such a scenario. The country’s recent placement in the top tier of the International Telecommunication Union’s Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) is a positive signal, reflecting the establishment of policies, agencies, and institutional frameworks dedicated to cybersecurity. This recognition highlights strong institutional intent. However, it does not necessarily mean Bangladesh is among the most secure nations in the world. The GCI largely assesses the presence of frameworks rather than their operational depth or performance under stress. Structures may exist on paper, but true readiness is tested only when systems come under pressure.

In recent years, Bangladesh has taken notable steps to strengthen its legal and regulatory posture in cyberspace. The Cyber Security Ordinance, 2025 represents an effort to modernize the national approach by clarifying cyber offences, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and introducing greater procedural safeguards. By refining earlier legal frameworks and improving oversight, the ordinance signals an intention to treat cybersecurity as a matter of strategic governance rather than ad hoc regulation. These developments indicate growing awareness at the policy level that digital security is integral to state stability.

Yet laws and institutions alone do not ensure resilience. Cybersecurity is ultimately an operational discipline-one that depends on skills, coordination, testing, and continuous learning. This becomes particularly critical in the protection of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII), where disruption can have cascading effects across banking, energy, telecommunications, healthcare, and government services. Regular penetration testing, red-team exercises, and stress simulations of CII environments are essential to identify vulnerabilities before adversaries do. Without systematic testing, weaknesses remain latent until exposed by crisis.

Recent experiences have underscored this risk. In July 2024, a major nationwide disruption revealed how single points of failure-whether in network routing, data centers, or centralized control systems-can amplify damage far beyond the initial fault. In several instances, recovery was slowed not by the original incident itself, but by limited visibility into interdependencies between systems. Similar challenges have emerged during fire-related incidents affecting digital facilities, where the absence of redundancy and clear fallback mechanisms resulted in prolonged service outages. These episodes serve as reminders that resilience is not merely about preventing attacks, but about ensuring continuity when failures occur.

Another recurring concern lies in the operational capacity of internet service providers (ISPs) and network operators during crises. In some incidents, providers have struggled to clearly distinguish between internal network failures and external connectivity losses, complicating coordination with regulators, emergency responders, and dependent institutions. When accurate situational awareness is delayed, response efforts across the broader cyber ecosystem-from financial services to government platforms-can grind to a halt. Strengthening incident reporting standards, technical diagnostics, and real-time information sharing is therefore as important as upgrading physical infrastructure.

Institutional coordination also warrants attention. The establishment of the National Cyber Security Council reflects an important recognition that cybersecurity requires whole-of-government oversight. However, its composition raises practical considerations. With only a limited number of members drawn from the private sector-where much of the country’s hands-on cybersecurity expertise resides-the council may face challenges in fully capturing the technical realities of modern cyber threats. While public officials bring valuable administrative and strategic experience, limited technical representation may reduce the influence of expert voices in shaping policy and long-term strategy. This is not a question of intent, but of balance: effective cyber governance benefits from deeper integration of operational expertise into strategic decision-making.

Perhaps the most fundamental challenge, however, lies in human capital development. Cyber resilience cannot be sustained without investment in education at the highest tier. Advanced curricula in cybersecurity, digital forensics, threat intelligence, and secure systems design must move beyond isolated programmes and become embedded within national education and professional training frameworks. Universities, professional institutes, and public training academies all have a role to play in cultivating a new generation of cyber professionals capable of operating at strategic, tactical, and technical levels. Without this pipeline, institutions risk remaining dependent on limited pools of expertise.

Ultimately, safeguarding sovereignty in cyberspace is not about rankings, ordinances, or organisational charts alone. It is about preparedness that functions under pressure-systems that can absorb shocks, institutions that can respond decisively, and policies that evolve alongside threats. Bangladesh has taken important steps in the right direction. The challenge now is to ensure that legal ambition is matched by operational capability, that strategic bodies are informed by deep expertise, and that resilience is built not only into systems, but into people. In the digital age, national security extends far beyond physical borders, and preparedness in cyberspace may well determine the strength and stability of the state itself.