Ensuring cyber security

The breach of cybersecurity is the order of the day in current times. In the context of Pakistan, one can see that cybercrimes have increased by over 83% in the last three years.

There are several instances that indicate breaches of cybersecuri­ty take place in different ways. For instance, it was recently reported that some small businesses were under automated cyber-attacks in 2022. There are other instanc­es like the hacking of FBR website in 2021, the recent PM office audio leaks, K-electric website hacking, fraudulent transactions in Ehsaas program, and financial frauds made public by the Federal Inves­tigation Agency (FIA).

Now, the question arises: why is the cybersecurity of Pakistan so porous and vulnerable that it is easily breached? There are numer­ous reasons behind the sorry state of affairs in cybersecurity. For ex­ample, these breaches of cyber­security can only transpire when there are cybersecurity agencies, but they fail to deliver up to the mark and are incompetent enough to counter attacks on cybersecuri­ty. Our cybersecurity agencies are not that secure enough to tackle such threats with the help of new tools as have been introduced in other countries. Conversely, there are several vulnerabilities and patches causing breaches of cy­bersecurity.

Cyber insecurity spawns a great number of implications for the country in different walks of life. If there is no effective mechanism to deal with the challenge of cyber in­security, it is likely that it will pro­duce severe financial fallout which leads to the loss of the business community, and investments com­ing from this community will sig­nificantly drop.

As a result of cyber insecurity, it is inevitable that the country’s national security will be compro­mised. National security consists of the security of all sectors of the country, but if any one sector be­comes vulnerable to cyber-attacks, it can create ripple effects for the security of our country in many ways. If this goes on like this, the country’s image will face a titan­ic hit. As a consequence, all things will go awry, and Pakistan will de­generate into chaos at any time.

Cybersecurity is an integral part of national security. If it is not se­cure, everything is under threat. To ensure cybersecurity, it is time to increase awareness and certifi­cations on cybersecurity. It is es­sential that there must be a liaison among cybersecurity agencies, IT departments, and courts. An ef­fective implementation of the first cybersecurity policy and identi­fying linkages between the virtu­al and real world then becomes crucial. Only then will Pakistan be able to reap the fruit of its cyber­security more effectively.

ABDUL QADEER SEELRO,

Larkana.