Cyber Security In Pakistan

4.4 Pakistan’s Response Capabilities in Cyber Space. Currently, Pakistan lacks an organisational cap to counter any cyber threat. As part of digital society, Pakistan needs to take concrete initiatives at national level to improve the effects of its actions and policy of a responsible state against the abuse of cyberspace. The response mechanism and initiatives have two main compositions namely management and technology responses. The present capability of Pakistan in terms of management and technology response is discussed in subsequent paras.

4.4.1 Management Response. The cyberspace benefits as well as the threats are beyond the jurisdiction of normal and traditional geographical boundaries of the nations. The enormous speed of cyber

At present there are more than one hundred countries in the world who have established a certain level of cyber capacity at government level, out of which more than fifty percent countries have published their cyber security strategy by defining the national security objectives and goals intended to be achieved . Pakistan is yet to identify and define objectives and goals required to be achieved through cyber security in terms of a national cyber security strategy.

 National Cyber Security Policy. Pakistan is among those countries in the world who has not defined their cyber security policy as yet. In Jul 2013, Senate Committee on Defence established a Task Force for Cyber Security that was given the mandate of defining the national cyber security policy . Till date it lacks highest level organisational body having sole responsible of defining and implementing the cyber security policy in the country by establishing the control mechanism and corresponding regularities to achieve each objective and goal defined in the national cyber security

The legislation by Pakistan government on cyber crimes started in 2002 by implementing the Electronic Transaction Ordinance (ETO). ETO was first step in providing accreditation to the service providers. The ordinance was having objectives to facilitate and documented the electronic transactions and ICT related information in electronic form. In 2009, Pakistan government issued first ordinance on cybercrimes named Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance (PECO). PECO defined and laid down legal terminologies related to cybercrimes, types of crimes and punishments pertinent to each crime. However the ordinance was never debated in the National Assembly and has expired due to non-promulgation within constitutional timeframe. Currently the government has passed the cybercrime law after facing much criticism from the opposition as well as civil society. The act which has been given the title of the ‘Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2015’ provides legal mechanisms for the investigation, prosecution, trial and international cooperation of crimes in connection with information system. But till date the federal government has failed to implement this recently passed