National Cybersecurity Control Room Established in Pakistan Amid Rising Cyber Threats 4

National Cybersecurity Control Room has been established in Islamabad as Pakistan steps up efforts to counter rising cyber threats.

The National Cyber Emergency Response Team (nCERT) set up the National Cybersecurity Control Room at L-Block, Pak Secretariat. The facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Officials said the move comes during a sensitive security situation. Authorities fear possible targeted cyberattacks on government websites, official networks, and national digital systems.

The National Cybersecurity Control Room will act as a central coordination hub. It will monitor, analyze, and respond to cyber incidents across the country in real time.

All Internet Service Providers and sectoral and provincial CERTs have been directed to activate dedicated monitoring systems. They must ensure round-the-clock surveillance of their networks.

Any suspicious activity or confirmed cyber incident must be reported immediately to nCERT. This will allow a coordinated national response.

Key institutions, including the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, National Information Technology Board, and National Telecommunication Corporation, have been instructed to nominate focal persons.

They must submit updated contact details to nCERT by March 4, 2026. This step aims to strengthen coordination during the monitoring period.

Dr. Muhammad Yousaf, Director CERT, and Dr. Mujahid Shah, Assistant Director (Incident Management), have been appointed as focal persons for national-level coordination.

The advisory also includes National Baseline Security Guidelines. These guidelines focus on preventing phishing attacks, website defacement, data breaches, ransomware attacks, and system misconfigurations.

Organizations are advised to strengthen email security, deploy web protection systems, use multi-factor authentication, and encrypt sensitive data.

The guidelines also recommend regular security testing and maintaining offline backups to reduce ransomware risks.

Authorities have emphasized business continuity and disaster recovery planning. Departments are advised to maintain backup internet connections and tested failover systems.

The creation of the National Cybersecurity Control Room reflects increased vigilance by cyber authorities. Officials say the goal is to protect the integrity and availability of Pakistan’s digital infrastructure during this critical period.