Kazakhstan and Palo Alto Networks Implement Joint Cybersecurity Initiatives

The cooperation between the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Palo Alto Networks — one of the world's leading cybersecurity companies — has moved into the phase of practical implementation. The partnership, which began following the signing of a memorandum during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to the United States in November 2025, today covers the key areas of the country's digital sovereignty — from the protection of information systems and the strengthening of cyber resilience to the training of a new generation of specialists.

The interaction between the parties draws on Palo Alto Networks' many years of cybersecurity expertise. The company's status as one of the world's technology leaders enables Kazakhstan to integrate advanced international practices into its information protection architecture, providing direct access to the innovative solutions required to ensure the resilience of the country's digital infrastructure.

Since its founding, Palo Alto Networks has played a key role in shaping the global cybersecurity industry. In 2007 the company created and brought to market a new class of solutions — Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) — and in 2018 introduced XDR technology, setting new standards in effective cyber threat detection and response (Extended Detection and Response). These solutions are today widely used by major corporations and government organisations worldwide.

Specialists from government agencies and critical infrastructure facilities are now actively testing and deploying Palo Alto Networks' innovative platforms, including Cortex XDR and XSOAR, AI security technologies, next-generation firewalls with AI support, and modern SASE and ZTNA 2.0 architectures providing secure access to corporate resources and protecting distributed users. The use of next-generation tools for building Security Operations Centres (SOC) enables not merely a timely response to incidents but the use of artificial intelligence for proactive threat monitoring and automatic blocking of cyberattacks.

Alongside the technical buildout, a major educational campaign is under way. The Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Academy has already opened its doors to students at five of the country's leading universities — the Kazakhstan-British Technical University, SDU University, AUES, Astana IT University, and the international Coventry and De Montfort universities. Future specialists are mastering cybersecurity and AI solutions, while practising engineers from ministries and national companies are undergoing professional retraining in line with international cybersecurity standards.

International experience sharing has also been an important element of the cooperation. A Kazakhstani delegation visited Azerbaijan to study best practices for protecting government and critical facilities at the national CERT centre. Particular attention was paid to personal data control mechanisms and the implementation of GDPR standards.

This experience is forming the basis for new legislative initiatives on cloud solution security and the protection of critical digital facilities against AI-generated threats.

All accumulated findings and the outcomes of the pilot projects will be presented to the expert community on 7 April in Astana at the Innovation Day event — marking another step towards creating a secure and innovative digital environment in Kazakhstan, protected to the highest global standards.