SBP rolls out cyber resilience plan

KARACHI:

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday announced the launch of "Cyber Shield – the Cyber Resilience Strategy for Regulated Entities", a framework aimed at strengthening the safety and robustness of the country's banking and financial system amid growing cyber risks.

According to an official statement, the strategy is designed to protect banks and financial institutions from cyber threats, ensuring that people and businesses can continue to access financial services safely. It outlines a structured roadmap to help institutions strengthen internal systems and controls, prevent cyber incidents, respond effectively when attacks occur and recover quickly from disruptions.

The central bank said the initiative responds to the increasing sophistication of cyber threats facing the banking ecosystem, particularly as digital financial services expand. The strategy adopts a holistic and forward-looking approach, emphasising collaboration across the financial sector to improve overall cyber preparedness. The framework is built around five key priorities: strengthening the ability of banks to withstand cyber incidents, improving governance and accountability for cybersecurity, encouraging cooperation and information-sharing across the financial sector, building skilled cyber talent, and continuously updating security practices to keep pace with new risks.

Under the strategy, the SBP will closely track both global and domestic cyber developments and revise the framework as needed to keep pace with evolving threats.