Social Security is More Vital Than Cyber Security for Bangladesh

How do we measure a state’s security? Is it by the protection of its databases, multi-layered security on government websites, or cyber defense laws? While these matter, can a nation be truly secure if citizens lack healthcare funds, face job loss without safety nets, or lose everything to natural disasters without support?

This raises a fundamental question beyond cybersecurity: What does state security truly mean?

Bangladesh has enacted several cyber laws in recent years, including the Cyber Protection Act, 2026, passed on April 10, 2026, which outlines provisions for detecting, preventing, suppressing, and prosecuting cybercrimes. Such legislation is essential in a modern state.
The crucial question remains: Are we securing cyberspace while leaving the lives of its users vulnerable?

This does not mean cyber security laws are unnecessary, but cybersecurity must not replace holistic human security.

The Constitution Outlines Our Path

Long before the digital era, the Constitution of Bangladesh envisioned a broad concept of state security. Article 15 mandates basic necessities—food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, reasonable wages, and social security against unemployment, illness, disability, widowhood, or old age. Social security is a constitutional duty, not political patronage.
Article 19 further directs the state to reduce social and economic inequality through equitable resource distribution.

Thus, national security fundamentally encompasses protecting citizens from life’s basic vulnerabilities, not just external threats.

Budget Allocations vs. Ground Reality

Bangladesh allocates significant funds to social protection. In FY2025–26, BDT 116,731 crore was allocated, accounting for 14.78% of the total budget and 1.87% of GDP. Positive reforms include streamlining 140 programs down to 95, implementing direct benefit transfers, and establishing a dynamic social registry.

However, challenges remain in reaching those most in need. According to World Bank evaluations from 2025, despite spending nearly 3% of GDP on social protection, nearly half of poor households receive no coverage. The core issue lies in accurate targeting, timely delivery, and depoliticized administration.

The metric of success should focus on recipient accuracy and systemic inclusion rather than total expenditure.

The Danger of Relapsing into Poverty

World Bank data highlights that national poverty dropped from 37.1% to 18.7% and extreme poverty from 12.2% to 5.6% between 2010 and 2022.

However, approximately 62 million people living just above the poverty line remain highly vulnerable to falling back into poverty due to health crises, natural disasters, or job loss. Genuine social security must build resilience against life-altering shocks.

Cyber Security as a Complement, Not a Substitute

Addressing financial theft, identity theft, and online scams requires strong legal and institutional frameworks. Yet, security mechanisms must prioritize restoring victims’ losses and ensuring safe reporting environments alongside prosecuting offenders.

Legal provisions alone cannot guarantee protection if victims face social stigma, retaliation, or unrecovered stolen assets.

Ultimately, cybersecurity must aim to protect people, not just machines.

How Social Insecurity Heightens Cyber Risks
Cyber vulnerabilities stem not only from technical flaws but also from socioeconomic insecurity. Financial stress, job loss, or illness makes individuals more susceptible to fraudulent offers of quick loans or financial assistance. Studies show that situational distress and psychological pressure significantly increase susceptibility to cyber fraud. Stronger social security enhances public cyber resilience.
Conversely, digital social protection delivery introduces new cyber risks. As allowance distributions transition to mobile financial services, first-time digital users face exposure to fraud, data theft, and predatory intermediaries. Robust cybersecurity and digital literacy are vital to safeguarding digital welfare initiatives.

Lessons from Estonia: Building Societal Resilience

Estonia’s Cybersecurity Strategy 2024–2030 prioritizes societal resilience alongside national cyber defense. Cyber defenses must be complemented by mechanisms that maintain essential social services, healthcare, and emergency financial support during system disruptions.

Societal resilience forms the true foundation of cyber defense.

Lessons from Europe: Platform Accountability

The European Union’s Digital Services Act regulates systemic platform risks, algorithmic safety, and user protection.

Bangladesh must hold technology platforms accountable rather than placing the entire burden of cyber safety on individual users.

Expanding the Concept of Social Security

Social protection extends beyond simple allowances to lifecycle security, encompassing child nutrition, healthcare, employment support, disability assistance, and old-age pensions.

A lifecycle security model ensures state support across all stages:

Childhood → Education → Employment → Unemployment → Illness → Disability → Old Age.

Protecting Informal Sector Workers

Over 84.9% of Bangladesh’s workforce (around 60 million people) operates in the informal sector.

As the ILO notes, these workers often constitute a “missing middle”—ineligible for poverty relief yet lacking contributory social insurance. Preventing poverty through pre-emptive social safety nets is far more effective than post-crisis relief.

Key Policy Recommendations:

1. Integrated Social Security Legislation: Consolidate fragmented programs into a unified, rights-based legal framework.

2. Dynamic Social Registry: Maintain a transparent, unified registry integrating identity, income, employment, and risk data to respond rapidly to crises.

Data collection must respect citizen privacy and data governance standards.

3. Comprehensive Lifecycle Guarantees: Establish targeted safety nets across every stage of life.

4. Universal Social Protection Floor: Guarantee essential healthcare, emergency aid, child protection, and basic old-age income.

5. Social Insurance for Informal Workers: Introduce contributory insurance schemes covering healthcare, accidents, and pensions. Bangladesh’s commitment to launch a National Employment Injury Scheme by July 2027 marks significant progress.

6. Unemployment Support and Reskilling: Link financial aid with skill development and job placement initiatives.

7. Empowerment Over Dependency: Combine financial aid, training, employment, and credit to foster long-term self-reliance.

8. Depoliticized Targeting: Ensure welfare distribution relies on transparent, objective eligibility criteria.

9. Social Security Ombudsman: Establish an independent ombudsman office to address grievances, exclusion errors, and administrative corruption.

10. Integrating Cyber and Social Protection: Provide victims of digital financial fraud with prompt account freezing, fund recovery assistance, and emergency relief support.

The state must protect citizens from digital threats while providing a safety net when fraud occurs.

Financing Sustainable Social Security

Expanding social protection within fiscal constraints requires optimizing current expenditures and streamlining programs.

Consolidating 140 fragmented projects into 95 targeted programs enhances administrative efficiency and measurable impact.

International initiatives, including the World Bank’s $200 million project and ADB’s $250 million reform program, emphasize targeted coverage and system efficiency.
These reform programs prioritize contributory social protection, climate resilience, and gender-inclusive support.

Global practice is shifting from passive relief toward social insurance and sustainable risk management.

Conclusion: People are the Ultimate Infrastructure

A nation’s primary infrastructure is its people. While cybersecurity protects digital systems, social security builds societal resilience against poverty and inequality.

Cybersecurity forms the walls of state infrastructure, but social security forms its foundation.

Protecting citizens directly is essential, as human potential and security are far harder to rebuild than digital servers.

Bangladesh must strive to be a state of secure citizens, anchored by human-centered social security.

Footnotes and References

[1] Ministry of Law, Bangladesh, Cyber Protection Act, 2026. (Bangladesh Laws)

[2] Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Article 15. (Bangladesh Laws)

[3] Social Security Policy Support Programme, Finance Division, Government of Bangladesh, Social Security Budget Report 2025–26. (Social Protection Bangladesh)

[4] World Bank, Bangladesh: World Bank Approves $200 Million to Help Modernize the Social Protection System, 26 March 2025. (World Bank)

[5] World Bank, Bangladesh Poverty and Equity Assessment 2025. (World Bank)

[6] Ibid. (World Bank)

[7] Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, Estonia, Cybersecurity Strategy 2024–2030: Cyber-conscious Estonia. (Just Digi)

[8] European Commission, The Digital Services Act. (Digital Strategy)

[9] International Labour Organization, Formalization Key to Shared Prosperity with Workers in Bangladesh’s Informal Sector. (ILO)

[10] International Labour Organization, World Social Protection Report 2024–26, Chapter 3. (ILO)

[11] International Labour Organization, Technical Brief: National Employment Injury Scheme in Bangladesh, 25 May 2026. (ILO)

[12] Asian Development Bank, ADB Approves $250 Million Loan to Implement Social Protection Reforms in Bangladesh, 24 April 2026. (ADB)

[13] Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Study on Psychological Vulnerabilities in Cyber Scams, 2026.

[14] World Bank, Sourcebook on the Foundations of Social Protection Delivery Systems.

[15] Huang, J., Tajrian, A. & Raihan, A., The Digital Transformation and Social Infrastructures of Bangladesh’s Old Age Allowance Programme, 2025.

Author: Former Senior Secretary, Government of Bangladesh