Challenges to Cyber Security Policy in Pakistan: A Critical Discourse

Abstract

The growing digitization of the world and the development of information and communication technology in cyberspace have exposed states to a plethora of cyber threats. With its current ranking at 79 out of 183 states on the Global Cybersecurity Index, Pakistan is vulnerable to cyber security threats that can impact its national security. Although it introduced the National Cyber Security Policy in 2021, the implementation of cybersecurity practices is lacking. The gaps in Pakistan’s cyber security culture have made it difficult to securitize cyberspace and prevent vulnerabilities to non-traditional cyber threats. The main issue to be addressed is how cybersecurity policy is formatted in Pakistan and what factors hinder the formation, development, and execution of a sound policy. It compares recent cybersecurity efforts such as the National Cybersecurity Policy of 2021 and the PTA Cybersecurity Strategy 2023-2028. These domestic policies are analyzed against international frameworks such as NIST, GDPR, and more, with a focus on the ways in which other developed and developing states have aligned their respective policies. Using a qualitative approach, this research is exploratory in nature and focuses on data collection via stakeholder interviews and literature analysis. The stakeholders include cybersecurity officials, cybersecurity operatives, students of cybersecurity, and hackers, ethical and non-ethical. This research aims to address the challenges to cyber security policy in Pakistan and draw upon the ways in which policymaking for this sector can be improved.