Pakistan to establish cybersecurity authority

Pakistan is all set to establish national cybersecurity authority by next year. The move is designed to tighten surveillance and protect against data breaches and potential cyber attacks on national institutions from across borders.

Speaking at a conference titled 'InfoSec 2024', National Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT) Director General Dr Haider Abbas said the team is going to be upgraded into the National Cyber Security Authority of Pakistan this year or the next year.

Pakistan's key institutions, including Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), K-Electric, some commercial, private and state-owned banks and an App-based transportation company, lost consumers data in the cyber attack recently.

Abbas said the National Cyber Emergency Response Team is establishing a lab to ensure that organizations deploy fool-proof security hardware and software.

"This is going to be a big requirement that will be gradually deployed with the passage of time….and it (lab certification) would be made mandatory with effect from July 1, 2028. This is the final deadline."

Founder Rewterz Faiz Ahmad Shuja said many Pakistani organizations have faced data breach including key state-owned organizations in the past. Proofs suggest most of the attacks were made from foreign countries. India remains top of the list among attackers.

SBP Additional Director Shoukat Bizinjo said that financial sector remained top focus of the cyber attackers. An IMF study revealed that 20,000 cyber-attacks took place in the past 20-years, incurring $20 billion loss in such attacks, while $12 billion out of that was lost alone by the financial sector globally.

He urged the upcoming digital banks in Pakistan to come up with full cybersecurity measures, as the security remains the key for their success in the country.

Muhammad Zohaib Khan, Chairman, P@SHA, said the actual IT exports of Pakistan stands significantly higher at $6-7 billion in FY24.