Cyber attacks: Unity of govt, military, private sector stressed to secure country

ISLAMABAD: The CGSS organised a Seminar ‘Cyber Secure Pakistan – Policy Framework’ on Tuesday here at a local hotel. The aim of the seminar was to create awareness among the masses regarding the new emerging technologies in the cyber world and to devise a unified cyber security policy of the country as the mechanisms to regulate the cyber space has become an important feature of national security, says a press release.

The seminar is an initiative to formulate a possible consolidated cyber security strategy. Lieutenant General Muhammad Zahirul Islam HI(M), (R) – Chairman CGSS in his opening remarks stated that the government must pass well-articulated legislation that provides a legal framework for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to operate under. A transparent process, with input from the private sector, needs to be developed for accessing communications data when national security is at risk.

Pakistan must develop a centralised command that serves as the central organisation responsible for the development of military capabilities in the cyber realm. This cyber command should be tasked with modernising Pakistan’s cyber defences, both in the military and civilian domain. The government, military, and the private sector must come together to develop a framework for securing the country’s critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.

Syed Iftikhar Hussain Babar - Secretary National Security Division, government of Pakistan in his opening address highlighted the significance of cyber security. He stated that Pakistan needs to focus on the development of National Security Command Authority. The threat of Cyber Warfare is real and protecting data is as important as protecting ourselves, he added.

He stated that the situation in Pakistan is not that discouraging. Government and many private institutions have made tangible efforts in this regard. Pakistan must establish its foothold in cyberspace and formulate its state policy, before the world further enhances its capabilities in this field, he said.

Dr Muddassar Farooq - Chief Technology Officer, Neomantix presented his speech on “Cyber Warriors: where is our Elite Cyber-Security Unit and Future of Pakistan?” He stated that Cyber terrorism is an evolving concept, and there is possibility of critical damages to infrastructure, networks and cyberspace, if not taken seriously. He recommended that Pakistani military and political leadership should take initiate programmes to identify country’s critical infrastructures and their vulnerabilities and develop an organisation, Pakistan Cyber warfare Academy for the training of Cyber Warriors for National Cyber Defence and Offence.

Irfan Ur Rehman – former head of Cyber Security Operations at PTCL presented his speech on “Cyber Terrorism at International and Domestic Level”. He stated that today’s terrorists may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bomb. He also talked about cyber terrorists, cyber criminals, cyber warfare while highlighting the historical cyber attacks against Pakistan’s Critical Infrastructure. He further stated that Pakistan should develop its own social media sector for the protection of the data. He concluded his speech by recommending cooperation, consensus and coordination between all relevant stakeholders.

Ammar Jaffery – Director General, Center of Information Technology (CIT) presented his speech on “Emerging New Technologies in Cyber Space”. He highlighted the three most pertinent intervening factors in cyber space that can impact the cyber security including Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency. He stated that in the past internet was only used for communication but the internet of future is scary where 50 billion devices will be talking to each other.

He highlighted the use of internet by the cyber criminals and terrorist organizations. He further stated that we have evolved from stone coin to bitcoin, from government to e-government and from diplomacy to e-diplomacy. He believes that the threats being faced by the country is immense which includes threats of known and unknown characters and safety of critical infrastructure. He stated that 419 scams are now coming with new labels.

Yusuf Hussain- Chairman Ignite – National Technology Fund, Ministry of Information & Technology presented his speech on “Strategy to Invest in Research and Development in Cyberspace”. He stated that when change is rapid and massive, a strategy is needed rather than piece meal initiatives. A cyber security strategic plan will inform policies, programmes, investments and collaborations in this domain. The entire cyber value chain has to be secured mainly network, application, data and host.

Tariq Malik – former chief technology officer, GHQ presented his speech on “Internet of Things (IOT) – A Case Study”. He stated that one cannot develop a sound resilient cyber security strategy without having a deep understanding. He suggested that the platform should provide mechanisms to detect malicious and anomalous activity or integrate easily into device side malware protection or anomaly detection products. Internet of Things (IoT) devices should be able to detect and resist attacks from the edge including spoofing, replay, and excessive communications.

Mudassar Hussain – Member Telecom, Ministry of Information Technology, government of Pakistan presented his speech on “Attempting a Cyber Secure Pakistan”. He stated that the way we have evolved since 2003 is the result of a consolidated strategy. He identified that while constructing the strategy we have to ensure that these actions do not suppress the economic growth of any other sector. He stated that the relevant departments have been working on the strategy for cyber security, but due to lack of collaboration between these institutions, we have failed to develop a consolidated cyber security policy. We must devise a strategy which the users have faith in and the user must be aware of the steps he can take to ensure its own security. We also need to work on a model for international collaboration. This is a collective initiative which is being delayed due to non-consensus of all the relevant departments.

Lieutenant General Nasser Khan Janjua, HI(M), (R), - National Security Adviser, PM Secretariat, Islamabad in his closing address stated that with growing digitalisation of cyber space, new threats are emerging pertaining to defence and security. He stated that the whole sphere has been endangered and it is need of the hour to get out of the consumer market and venture into new dimensions. Pakistan is engulfed into traditional threats and insecurities due to which the new emerging threats have been ignored, hence, we have to do better, more than ever before. He further stated that most of the states are in the process to make a framework. While state remains principle political entity, the diffusion of technology has transcended into seen and unseen factors therefore, we need to protect our information from being maliciously used against the state.

Excessive use of internet has put our security under the threat. Due to our increasing alliance on the internet, cyber security policy is becoming the need of the hour. It is important for Pakistan to securitize the cyber space otherwise the communication, financial and conventional system can become targets as we are a nuclear capable state. The malicious aims are to disrupt the national infrastructure to play havoc with national security. Cyber security is a grey area, and the state cannot leave these grey areas unaddressed. There is a dire need to create awareness that cyber security a matter of national security. Pakistan needs to excel resiliently and develop an e-governance council for policy formulation and our standards of precaution must match globally acceptable parameters, he added.

About 250 people including the senior members of CGSS Advisery Board, government representatives, armed forces officers, diplomats, experts of IT attended the seminar.