Cyber Security Imperatives and Pakistan’s Readiness: A Brief Overview

Abstract

With increasing use of the Internet and its free for all availability, the cyber space is expanding making it easier for hackers to target infrastructure and services. The next war between adversaries will be a cyber war. The country stronger in cyber warfare will win without even taking to the battlefield. This paper describes the types of cyber threats; advantages cyber-attackers have; categories of cyber-attacks; threats to data; and information confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA). It also highlights the possible targets of cyber-attacks; and the type of leadership needed in the cyber security and cyber war environment. The study aims at creating awareness in Pakistan’s policymakers and other stakeholders about prevailing cyber threats and making recommendations to mitigate the dangers. Finally, some Pakistan-specific recommendations are included to mitigate the threats to the country’s cyber security.

The scope of this article is related to the following SDG / SDGs.