VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equity-Insider.com News Commentary — Cybersecurity is hitting a massive turning point. Global spending is hitting $308 billion this year, reflecting a structural shift as companies race to lock down their AI-driven architectures[1]. It is no longer about stopping tomorrow's threats; hackers are stealing encrypted data right now, hoping to unlock it once the technology catches up[2]. This immediate cryptographic exposure is placing a high premium on firms like Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN8), Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA), Mitek Systems (NASDAQ: MITK), and Clear Secure (NYSE: YOU).
The mandate for better governance is accelerating quickly. Gartner identifies AI agent identity as a top trend for 2026, warning that the rise of machine actors is simply outpacing traditional controls[3]. This gap is creating a unique opportunity for sovereign data frameworks to take center stage. Because current encryption is expected to reach its expiration date by 2030, quantum-resilient migration has become the primary value driver for the current security cycle[3].
Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN8) announced its first municipal government post-quantum security pilot this week, a concrete step forward for the Vancouver-based company as it pushes deeper into public-sector contracts. The pilot is being conducted through QSE's membership in MISA (Municipal Information Systems Association), which connects municipal governments across Canada on technology evaluation initiatives.
The participating municipality will use QSE's Quantum Preparedness Assessment (QPA) platform to map its cryptographic exposure and build a readiness framework for the coming shift to post-quantum security standards. In plain terms, that means figuring out which of its systems could be cracked by a powerful enough quantum computer in the future, and starting to plan how to fix that before it becomes an emergency.
"Our engagement with municipal governments reflects the growing recognition that post-quantum security planning must begin well before quantum computing capabilities reach maturity," said Ted Carefoot, CEO of QSE. “Municipal governments operate critical infrastructure and sensitive citizen data systems, making early evaluation of cryptographic risk an important step in preparing for the next generation of cybersecurity challenges.”
The company noted it is already in talks with additional municipalities exploring similar assessments.
The municipal pilot fits into a broader commercial story. Since November 2025, QSE has grown from four to thirteen operational markets worldwide, with eleven value-added distributors now active across its channel ecosystem and two more partnerships expected to close shortly. The company has also been building out its technology stack, adding expanded automation to the QPA platform for analyzing software, cryptographic, and hardware bills of materials, giving organizations a clearer picture of where their encryption vulnerabilities actually sit.
On the identity side, QSE integrated its quantum-resistant entropy layer into QAuth, its authentication platform, strengthening how cryptographic keys are generated at the source level. The company also joined CADSI (Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries) alongside its MISA membership, opening pathways into Canadian defence and public-sector procurement processes.
QSE is a Canadian post-quantum security company building tools to help organizations protect their data not just from today's cyber threats, but from the more powerful attacks that quantum computing is expected to eventually make possible. Its platform covers migration readiness assessment, quantum-resilient key generation, identity and authentication, and encrypted storage architecture, targeting commercial, enterprise, and government clients preparing for a long-term shift in global cryptographic standards.
CONTINUED… Read this and more on QSE at: https://equity-insider.com/2025/03/18/is-scope-technologies-corp-cse-scpe-otcqb-scpcf-the-next-big-player-in-quantum-cybersecurity/
In other industry developments and happenings in the market include:
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) has released findings from its 2025-2026 Security and Networks Snapshot revealing a critical enterprise readiness gap, with 62% of organizations investing in quantum technologies but only 4% of leaders treating quantum as the most impactful near-term concern. The report, drawing on insights from 3,700 business and technology leaders across 21 countries, also found that 84% of respondents consider data sovereignty and repatriation regulations increasingly important, while 25% of mission-critical networks are at end-of-service life.
"Quantum threats, evolving data sovereignty rules and aging networks are not separate challenges; they are connected pressure points on the same system," said Paul Savill, Global Practice Leader, Cyber Security & Resiliency, Network & Edge, Kyndryl. "In the AI era, organizations engineered for agility, sovereignty awareness and quantum readiness will not only reduce risk, but also build the trust required to fuel innovation."
The report highlights that isolated approaches to quantum readiness and network modernization create operational blind spots that limit the resilience needed to scale AI-driven operations. As the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider operating across more than 60 countries, Kyndryl is positioning its advisory and managed services capabilities squarely at the intersection of these converging enterprise vulnerabilities.
Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) has unveiled a new blueprint for the secure agentic enterprise, framing three critical organizational questions: Where are my agents?; What can they connect to?; and What can they do?. The blueprint also proposes delivering Okta for AI Agents, a comprehensive platform to discover, register, govern, and instantly revoke AI agent access, set for general availability April 30, 2026. Recent research cited by Okta found that while 88% of organizations have experienced suspected AI agent security incidents, only 22% treat agents as independent, identity-bearing entities requiring formal governance.
"AI agents are evolving faster than any software before them, making traditional security models obsolete. Speed is now a given, but security is the differentiator," said Ric Smith, President of Products & Technology, Okta. "With this new blueprint, Okta is establishing the industry standard for the secure agentic enterprise. We enable companies to discover shadow agents, secure connection points, and maintain the ultimate 'kill switch' to protect their enterprise from evolving risks."
The platform extends Okta's 8,200+ integration catalog to include dedicated support for AI agent platforms including Boomi, DataRobot, and Google Vertex AI, and introduces an Agent Gateway that centralizes control over every MCP server, tool, API, and database an agent can access. With Universal Logout capability providing instant enterprise-wide access revocation and System Logs feeding agent activity into existing SIEM infrastructure, Okta is positioning itself as the identity governance standard for the agentic era.
Mitek Systems (NASDAQ: MITK) has expanded its identity verification platform through a new integration with Ping Identity's PingOne DaVinci, enabling organizations to embed advanced liveness detection and face comparison capabilities via no-code orchestration. The integration allows enterprises to combat deepfakes and AI-driven impersonation attempts while maintaining a frictionless user experience across banking-grade, high-assurance verification workflows.
"Organizations shouldn't have to choose between stronger fraud defenses and seamless digital experiences," said Faisal Nisar, Vice President of Product Management at Mitek Systems. "By integrating Mitek's verified identity platform, MiVIP, into PingOne DaVinci, we're helping detect sophisticated impersonation and AI-driven attacks while maintaining a frictionless user journey."
The integration joins the Ping Identity Global Technology Partner Program and supports both no-code and low-code configurations, positioning Mitek Systems to reach a broader enterprise customer base through DaVinci's drag-and-drop deployment framework. With more than 7,000 organizations already relying on Mitek Systems for identity protection, the partnership strengthens its position as a core infrastructure provider in the fraud prevention ecosystem.
Clear Secure (NYSE: YOU) has partnered with Ochsner Health to deploy its CLEAR1 identity platform across the Gulf South healthcare provider's network of 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers serving over 1.6 million patients annually, with the implementation already achieving a 93% success rate in patient account recovery since launch. More than 10,000 patients have reset their MyOchsner passwords through CLEAR1, which is certified at NIST Identity Assurance Level 2 and Authenticator Assurance Level 2 through the Kantara Initiative.
"CLEAR is proud that we're continuing to expand the ways we safely and securely connect people to their identity — and we're thrilled that Ochsner is already seeing a 93% success rate in its implementation of CLEAR1 for patient account recovery," said David Bardan, SVP, General Manager of Healthcare and GovTech at Clear Secure. "This partnership underscores our commitment to creating simple digital experiences for the patients and employees of trusted healthcare leaders, so they can spend more time on what matters most: patient care and recovery."
Future phases will expand CLEAR1 to support patient account creation within MyOchsner and employee account recovery for Ochsner's more than 40,000 team members, with the platform embedding directly into EHRs, patient portals, and clinician tools. With over 39 million members and a growing partner network, Clear Secure is accelerating its healthcare vertical strategy as identity assurance becomes foundational to compliant digital health data exchange.
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SOURCES:
- https://backendnews.net/idc-global-cybersecurity-spending-to-hit-308-billion-in-2026/
- https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/02/quantum-security-question-leaders-cannot-ignore/
- https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-02-05-gartner-identifies-the-top-cybersecurity-trends-for-2026
