In revolutionising the world, sources recorded that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have played a key role, making it truly a Global Village within the last decade. In the world the innovation in ICTs is redefining the dimension of socio-economic development, resulting in commercial, economic, cultural, and social opportunities for users of Cyberspace. This unprecedented growth has ushered in a new era, marked by easy and low-cost access to highly interconnected networks in the world.
With the developments in the ICTs, and reliance on broadband infrastructure in particular, the Internet has taken a centre stage in today’s modern world. The world is now increasingly interconnected and people have unprecedented access to information and knowledge.
In 2024 global cyber attacks continue to increase, with the average number of cyber attacks per organisation per week reaching 1,636 in the second quarter of 2024. This is a 30 percent year-over-year increase. As the number of attacks rises, the costs of these attacks rise as well. Cybercrime losses rose to a record high of $12.5 billion in 2023 and are expected to surge to $13.82 trillion by 2028. As the globe becomes more interconnected and reliant on digital technologies, cybercrime is surging. The year 2023 saw a notable increase in cyberattacks, resulting in more than 343 million victims. Between 2021 and 2023, data breaches rose by 72 percent, surpassing the previous record. It is said that citizens in the world use email for personal and professional communication, making email a target for cybercriminals and the most common vector for malware.
In 2023, 35 percent of malware was delivered via email, and more than 94 percent of organizations registered email security incidents. A data breach costs $4.88 million on average in 2024. In 2023, compromised business emails accounted for more than $2.9 billion in losses. These alarming statistics emphasize the danger of cyber vulnerabilities and highlight the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals.
To harness the advantages of ICT technologies and 4th Industrial Revolution, Pakistan has also adopted the path of digital transformation. The Total number presently of internet users in our country is 111 million. As of now, there are about 71.7 million social media users in Pakistan and the number is on an upward trajectory. The popularity of social media platforms shows this growing engagement, showing a shift in societal interactions and media consumption.
Among the various messaging applications, WhatsApp has gained substantial traction and now boasts almost 52.3 million users in the country. Statistics showed that Pakistan operates 7.0 landing cables. The combined bandwidth capacity provided by these cables stands at 20 terabits per second (TBPS). The Gateway cable contributes with a capacity of 8 TBPS. However, the faulty, SMW-4 cable, led to a significant reduction in bandwidth capabilities, amounting to a loss of 1.5 terabits per second (TBPS). This disruption in critical underwater infrastructure severely impacted internet connectivity across various regions of the country.
Experts recorded that Pakistan’s digital infrastructure is heavily dependent on content delivery networks (CDNs) that operate across 38 major cities. These CDNs facilitate the efficient distribution of online content, ensuring that users can access websites and applications with minimal delay. In periods of heightened national significance, there is a marked rise in online activity. This surge in traffic can lead to overwhelming demand on the existing network infrastructure, causing what is commonly referred to as internet choking.
Moreover, the rise in virtual private network (VPN) usage launched extra complexities to the present internet traffic landscape. While VPNs provide security and privacy for users, the encryption processes and longer routing paths inherently slow down connection speeds. This slowdown occurred at a time when internet speeds had already been compromised because of a submarine cable fault. The increased load on gateway internet traffic created through VPN usage led to a further fall in overall internet performance. With the organic growth and proliferation of the internet, unluckily, some worrisome trends in the use of cyberspace have also emerged.
Pakistan faced an alarming 34 million cyber-attacks, highlighting the severity of the cybersecurity crisis. The cyber security challenges in Pakistan mirror those found in other regions, including hacking, identity theft, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking. Additionally, issues like financial fraud, spoofing, digital piracy, and attacks from viruses and worms are prevalent. The concerns over safety and security potentially impede the objective of accelerated development and affect the confidence of people in using applications and services offered to traverse cyberspace.
These increasing incidents related to malicious use of ICTs in cyberspace are posing security and financial risks to a whole spectrum of users counting businesses, individuals, sectors and states and could potentially impose serious barriers to achieving development goals in various economic sectors. While the government of Pakistan has made some progress, various issues remain in terms of strategy, infrastructure, and awareness. Presently Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom has disclosed that Pakistan has been recognised in the Top Tier-1 (Role-Modelling) of the ITU-Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI-V5) 2024, reflecting the country’s strides in strengthening cybersecurity and resilience. It is said that this milestone is a testament to the dedicated efforts made by stakeholders across the government, industry, academia, and law enforcement agencies.
Pakistan wanted to make the country a hub of information technology. It highlights the ministry’s commitment to developing national cybersecurity expertise and capabilities.
In last, I would like to mention here, that the cybersecurity policy portrays Pakistan’s vision for cybersecurity development, which goes beyond simply protecting assets, to placing an emphasis on resilience via a strong and constantly evolving digital environment. Nevertheless, effective implementation of the policy without delay is vital in organising a cyber-friendly environment which will contribute to economic and technological development.