ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has stepped up cybersecurity preparedness ahead of Defence Day amid concerns over possible cyberattacks targeting critical information infrastructure and digital services.
The National Cyber Emergency Response Team has directed sectoral and provincial Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), along with critical information infrastructure organisations, to remain on high alert and establish special cybersecurity control rooms from September 5 to 7.
The National Security Operations Centre (NSOC) will serve as the national cyber coordination centre during Defence Day, maintaining round-the-clock monitoring of the cybersecurity environment and facilitating the exchange of critical information.
The centre will also support a coordinated response to significant cyber incidents that could affect Pakistan’s national digital infrastructure.
In this regard, the relevant organisations have been instructed to maintain continuous monitoring of important networks, systems, websites and digital services.
Any major cyber incident, suspicious activity or suspected security breach is to be reported immediately.
The National CERT has directed institutions to remain in continuous contact with the NSOC for sharing cyber threat intelligence and coordinating joint responses.
Cybersecurity focal persons and technical teams are also expected to remain available between September 5 and 7 to ensure rapid communication and escalation in the event of an incident.
They have also been urged to keep web systems updated and apply necessary security patches to reduce potential vulnerabilities.
The cybersecurity guidance also calls for firewalls and cyberattack detection and prevention systems to remain active on critical servers.
Disaster recovery sites should be ready for immediate activation, while offline or air-gapped backups of critical systems and configurations should be maintained and recovery procedures tested.
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Data centres and security operations centres have also been advised to maintain alternative internet connectivity, UPS systems and generator backup to ensure operational continuity during any potential disruption.
