Cyber labs

Cybersecurity is an underdeveloped area in Pakistan. Anti-state actors have been using the World Wide Web for years to communicate ominous plans to threaten innocent lives. Our government and talent is finally working to secure the Internet space used by citizens. This was due for some time and now, as connectivity is enhanced in rural and remote areas, the threat to cybersecurity has become greater. This is supported by statistics on the increase in malware by 36 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, according to the Internet Security Threat Report by Symantec. The corporation also detected a 125 per cent increase in 2015 in zero-day vulnerabilities, which are ‘holes’ in software that hackers can exploit to affect networks, data and programmes. The Lahore Garrison University (LGU) and government and military entities have awoken to these threats. The LGU’s Digital Forensic Research and Service Centre comes as a sign of reassurance that the threat to cybersecurity is being acknowledged.

Safeguarding public areas, including the virtual ones, is a government responsibility, but we know the call to action stems from worry about outsiders seeking to weaken Pakistan’s stealth and damage its sanctity. A lower priority is the safety to citizens. Nonetheless, the government’s focus towards developing and providing cyber protection is critical. More universities should be encouraged to establish research and development centres. The digital lab ventures at LGU and other universities in the future should be afforded support and network protection. Recently, a server at a public university in Michigan, USA was hacked, leaking sensitive student data. While Pakistan continues to catch up on the technological front, it needs a strong policy on Internet usage and cybersecurity with recent cybercrime laws enforced — though being cautious not to impinge on citizens’ rights. Especially in this time of transition of powers, be they military or government, the country cannot waver when anti-state actors are at play everywhere.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2016.

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