Cyber Threats: Implication on National Security

 Pakistan lags behind in cyber security preparedness

Security experts in a policy seminar have criticized the absence of a lead agency or comprehensive mechanism in Pakistan that could prevent or respond to any emergency situation should a major cyber threat arise. Development of indigenous IT and satellite technologies was also urged to ensure cyber security.

The seminar titled ‘Cyber Threats: Implication on National Security’ was organized by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad. It was chaired by Ambassador (r) Ali Sarwar Naqvi, executive director, Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS) while the main speakers included Dr. Tughral Yamin, associate dean, Center for International Peace and Stability (CIPS), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Syed Muhammad Ali, senior research fellow, Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Dr. Nadia Khadam, assistant professor, Bahria University, Islamabad Ammar Jaffri, former additional director general, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and senior IPS associate Brig (r) Said Nazir.

Dr. Yamin in his presentation deplored that Pakistan lagged behind even from its neighbouring countries like India and Iran in vision, leadership, infrastructure, proper legislation and well-devised policies to react to any cyber offensives which at worst could even affect the country’s territorial sovereignty by interfering into government’s decision making systems or causing a situation of panic or inadvertent war.

“There is no designated lead agency in Pakistan at present which is responsible for cyber security in the country”, he exclaimed.

He proposed that Pakistan, which according to Snowden’s revelation is the second most spied upon country in the world, should have a national cyber command and a designated cyber security force like the US or its traditional rival India, which have both invested heavily on this front in the previous years. The US cyber command is headed by a four-star general while India is planning to recruit half a million IT professionals for cyber warfare in the near future, he informed.

He called for implementation of the action plan proposed for a cyber secure Pakistan in 2013 by a specially formed Senate committee, as well as making the National Cyber Security Council – proposed in the Cyber Security Bill of 2014 – a part of the National Security Council (NSC).

Ali termed cyber intrusion an instrument of modern world fifth generation warfare stressing that the allocation of substantial resources by global powers in developing their cyberwar force signifies the need of paying urgent attention to this arena which was not less important than the battlefields of land, air, sea and the space.

He further stressed that in order to prevent itself from any cyber threats and challenges, Pakistan must reduce its dependence on others and develop its indigenous technology and resources as no technology or product coming from abroad can be termed secure.

Dr. Nadia urged for an aggressive approach for Pakistan to engage the global community through meaningful international legal instruments to counter the cyber security threats.

Jafri, too, endorsed the notion stating that according to a recent study by ICAN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), Pakistan was rated low in terms of its cyber preparedness. He opined that all the stakeholders should collaborate and try to devise a robust mechanism to answer emerging cyber world challenges.

He also urged the government to invest in the capacity building of youth and try to provide them with the conducive environment to harness their talent as they had potential, understanding and energy to come up with the solution.