Govt forms committee to boost cybersecurity

NCICS to make national information security framework and assess vulnerabilities

ISLAMABAD:

The government has constituted a national committee to formulate an information security framework aimed at countering communications and cyber networks operated by hostile agencies.

According to a notification, the committee — titled the National Committee for Information and Communications Security (NCICS) — will be headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

Its members include the Director General (Technical) of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Director General of the National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT), a former Additional Secretary of the Establishment Division, the Secretary of the National Telecommunication and Information Technology Security Board (NTISB), and the Secretary of the Cabinet Division.

The committee will assess and monitor the information systems of federal ministries, divisions, and government organisations to identify vulnerabilities, conduct gap assessments, evaluate the effectiveness of existing information security processes, and recommend measures to mitigate risks and strengthen the overall security posture of information systems.

It will also analyse completed cybersecurity and IT audits conducted by the NTISB and NCERT to formulate recommendations and corrective measures aimed at improving the national cybersecurity governance framework.

It will also carry out development of human resources cadre for cybersecurity, implementation of technical controls, and streamlining security aspects in procurements of cyber and IT systems. The committee will also undertake gap assessments in critical sectors like health, energy, civil aviation and transportation in order to identify vulnerabilities in information systems and recommend cybersecurity measures.

It will also formulate a compliance mechanism duly incorporating essential information security controls tied to organisational key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure effective monitoring and implementation.

It will establish a Federal CERT (FCERT) under the NCERT in line with CERT Rules 2023 in order to focus on information security aspects of all government ministries, divisions and organizations.