Establishment of Task Force For Network Security

Working Group for Network Security Set Up (Press Briefing)

The ministry of information technology has set up a Working Group for Network Security composed of ministry officials, intelligence agencies sleuth and private sector representatives to outline measures for cyber safety in the country.

"The Working Group would comprise around 25 persons belonging to ministry of IT, intelligence agencies, representatives from internet service providers (ISPs) and the country's renowned software houses," said an official at the ministry who wished not to be named.

"The Group's objective is as clear as its name. It's all about outlining measures and steps, which can ensure cyber safety in the country", he added.

"You can call it a professionals' forum with objectives to oversee and drive the development of network security, threat assessment, defensive and offensive mechanisms, viruses and Trojans."

The official dismissed any similarities between the Working Group and Cyber Wing, which the ministry set up last month to counter virus attacks on the government websites.

He said the latter would not be restricted to counter virus attacks only, but it would also contemplate regulating all the cyber-related activities in the country including cyber crimes.

The ministry formed Cyber Wing after hackers attacked various government websites through virus-contaminated emails and succeeded in suspending operation of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) website for a few hours.

The official said though the Working Group was just a few days old, it had been on the cards for over a year. "It is delayed due to the ministry's preoccupation with other projects. But it is not new.

"The Group will bring together various public and private sector entities to create synergies and establish direct contact among the specialists," the official informed.

Initially, the Group would discuss growing threat of insecure networks, intrusions, web page defacements and cyber terrorism. It will then discuss formulation of policies and guidelines and encourage ideas related to strong authentication mechanism such as smart cards, PKI, biometrics, Kerberos, tokens, digital certificates.