Our Work Case Study
Building a Secure, Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Qur'an & Mutun Learning Programs
Selected work demonstrating the experience behind YANFA — carried out as volunteer technology leadership prior to YANFA's founding.
- Organization / Program
- Halaqat Qur'an and Mutun
- Sector
- Islamic education — Qur'an and Mutun learning circles
- Location
- Prophet's Mosque, Madinah Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia
- Period
- Approximately 2 years
- Role
- Volunteer CISO & Head of Infrastructure
- Public website
- Visit project website
qm.edu.sa is an external website operated by Halaqat Qur'an and Mutun, not by YANFA.
A mission-driven educational platform serving Qur'an and Mutun learning programs needed a significant security and infrastructure transformation. The environment was facing frequent cyberattack attempts, while an important operational process — certificate generation — remained largely manual. Over roughly two years as volunteer CISO and Head of Infrastructure, the environment was rebuilt around secure cloud architecture, automation, monitoring, and long-term operational resilience.
The Challenge
Where the organization started.
When this engagement began, the organization's systems were facing frequent cyberattack attempts and needed a stronger technical foundation to operate reliably over the long term.
- Frequent cyberattack attempts, with roughly 2,000 attack attempts observed per week.
- Infrastructure required significant security strengthening to withstand ongoing attempts.
- Long-term operational reliability was a priority, not just a short-term fix.
- Hosting and infrastructure needed to meet local requirements for organizations operating in Saudi Arabia.
- Certificate generation for learning circles was a manual process.
- The manual certificate process could take up to approximately two months to complete.
The Solution
What was done.
The response was a ground-up rebuild of the organization's technical foundation, paired with a shift from a manual, paper-driven process to a secure, automated digital workflow.
- Complete redesign and rebuild of the infrastructure on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
- Google Cloud Armor deployed alongside a broader set of cloud security controls.
- Cybersecurity hardening and penetration testing to validate the new environment.
- Continuous infrastructure monitoring supporting a resilient, well-governed architecture.
- Reduced dependency on constant manual intervention through automation and stronger operational design.
- Migration away from externally hosted infrastructure to meet Saudi hosting requirements.
- Design and development of a fully digital certificate management system for the organization's learning circles and Mutun programs.
- Contributed to the organization's technical and security work related to ISO 27001 certification preparation.
Technology & Expertise
Tools and disciplines applied.
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- Google Cloud Armor
- Python
- Django
- Cybersecurity hardening & penetration testing
- Cloud security controls
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Web application security
- Database-backed certification system
- ISO 27001-related security practices & controls
Results & Impact
What changed.
~2,000
Attack attempts handled per week
Security controls continuously detect and block attempted attacks.
No successful penetration observed
To date
Stated conservatively — this reflects the monitored operational period, not a guarantee of future security.
~99.999%
Infrastructure uptime
Approximately 99.999% uptime during the observed operational period.
Up to 2 months → a few clicks
Certificate processing transformation
A process that previously required up to two months can now be completed through a digitized workflow in a few clicks.
Long-term resilience
Architecture designed for the future
Designed for long-term operational stability, maintainability, and reduced dependence on continuous administrator intervention.
Before & After
A quick comparison.
Before
- Frequent cyberattack attempts
- Less resilient legacy infrastructure
- Manual certificate-generation process
- Certificate generation could take up to two months
- Greater day-to-day operational dependency
After
- Hardened architecture on Google Cloud Platform
- Google Cloud Armor and layered security controls
- Continuous infrastructure monitoring
- Fully digital certificate management system
- Certificates generated in a few clicks
- Improved operational resilience and reduced manual dependency
Screenshots
The public-facing platform.
Does your organization face similar technology challenges?
YANFA helps nonprofit and public-benefit organizations strengthen cybersecurity, infrastructure, software, automation, and digital operations.