Since its formation, the Cyber Security Team of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued 152 security recommendations and 160 security threats to telecom operators.
In the first three quarters of the current fiscal year, the PTA Cyber Security Team issued 25 security and threat advisories. In the same way, in 2020-21, 48 security advisories were published, and in 2019-20, 40 security threats/advisories were released. In the 2018-19 fiscal year, the regulator's cyber security division issued 39 security advisories.
In 2020, PTA formed a sector-specific National Telecom Computer Emergency Response Team (NTCERT) to coordinate cyber security and threat intelligence with the industry. In early 2021, a web site for two-way communication with the industry was built to automate the CERT processes.
All licensees had secure access to the platform, according to PTA. The platform is now being used by telecom operators for threat intelligence sharing, security readiness, and compliance. NTCETR and the web portal are collaborating to deliver comprehensive security awareness and advanced threat information, as well as to monitor the telecom cyber threat landscape 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to efficiently detect cyberattacks against the telecom industry.