3-Cs of Cyberspace and Pakistan: Cybercrime, Cyber-Terrorism, and Cyber Warfare (original) (raw)

CYBER WARFARE AND NATIONAL SECURITY - AN ANALYSIS OF INCIDENTS BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN

Air Power Journal, 2013

In the wake of the 21 st century, the cyber world began to spread its roots deep into the society and penetrated the lives of the people so much so that the internet became an indispensable part of the citizens' life, thus upgrading them to the status of 'netizens'. Moreover, technology in cyber space gained dynamism, increasing the population of netizens. This became possible in the cyber space not because all the citizens became technically sound but also because the cyber technology became more user friendly. Nevertheless, the height of the 'liberty to express' was readily available in the cyber space by virtue of the very low level of restrictions and legal barriers applied by the governments of the countries in the cyber space.

Digital Shadows: The Menace of Cyber Espionage and Pakistan's National Security

Journal of Development and Social Sciences, 2023

This study aims to comprehensively explore the phenomenon of cyber espionage and its profound impact on Pakistan's national security, shedding light on its implications for international relations, military and nuclear security, economic stability, and critical infrastructure. Cyber espionage, as conducted among nation-states, involves the surreptitious use of computer-based attacks and intelligence-gathering techniques by one country to obtain sensitive information or a competitive advantage over another. This clandestine activity has redefined the nature of modern warfare, necessitating a deeper understanding of its consequences. The research methodology employed is qualitative in nature. The systematic literature review entails a meticulous examination of data sources, encompassing journal articles and various websites. The findings underscore the gravity of cyber espionage as a threat to Pakistan's sovereignty, emphasizing the need for a proactive stance in safeguarding sensitive data and critical infrastructure. This study recommends the development of robust cybersecurity measures, regular security assessments, Implementing an incident response plan, fostering a culture of security, and Working with law enforcement as essential steps to counter the evolving threat landscape posed by cyber espionage.

A Knight that Never Was: The Absence of Strategic Comprehension Leading to Cyber Insecurity for Pakistan

Eurasia Review, 2022

This article aims to dissect and analyze why Pakistan faces tremendous insecurity in cyberspace. The primary driver of the problem is a lack of appreciation of the strategic nature of cyberspace and a lack of comprehension of the distinct structure of cyberspace. Additionally, there seems to be a lack of commitment to pursuing effective solutions that can have a transformative and holistic impact on the state of cybersecurity in Pakistan. The article describes how it may be concluded that Pakistan has a weak cybersecurity posture while admitting that determining the true extent of the damage is not possible in current settings. We discuss some of the fundamental components required for an effective national cybersecurity arrangement before finally describing a national initiative that could have steered Pakistan in the right direction by addressing the need for these components.

Cyber Terrorism: A Case Study of Islamic State

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2017

In today’s postmodern world with the latest and top notch internet technologies in the market, if it has become easy and accessible for everyone to communicate with others sitting at the other corner of the world, it has also given rise to the cybercrimes including cyber terro rism which has not only provided grave threats to the whole world but also posed a question of whether with the manipulation of cyber space, cyber terrorists can damage or destroy the physical infrastructure of its target. Owing to easy access to everyone and strong damage done as compared to traditional terrorism, today terrorists are relying on cyber terrorism as well. The Islamic State (IS) has emerged as one of the brutal and violent terrorist organization s which hired cyber experts and manipulated cyber space to the extent that today they are most active and professional cyber users’ terrorist organization of the world. The main focus of the paper is to highlight the basic definition of cyber terrorism, ...

Cyberterrorism as a Threat to International Peace and Security: A Critical Discourse

Scholars International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice

With the end of the previous millennium and the entry of the new millennium, a new and somewhat strange war emerged. With the technological development and the invention of modern computers, this threat has become inevitable and imminent for both big and small countries. The new form of conflict is as challenging to international peace and security as the traditional ones and came with new threats that take place in a virtual battlefield known as cyberspace. Thus, cybercrimes, cyberterrorism and cyberwarfare came under the limelight on the international stage and became one of the primary concern of the world of the United States and other world powers. The western powers started considering cyberterrorism to be same with traditional terrorism and advocate for the application of equal measure to address it. The qualitative descriptive method of data analysis was utilized in making meaning out of the data collected from the secondary sources. It involves a descriptive summary of the information collected on specific events of the issues under study. This paper dwells on the phenomenon of cyberterrorism with inquisition of whether international law applies to cyberspace. Finally, some recommendations are offered on how to address the issue.

CYBERSECURITY IN PAKISTAN: REGULATIONS, GAPS AND A WAY FORWARD

Cyberpolitik Journal, 2020

We live in the age of information and globalization. From paying online utility bills to advance health structure, up to date transportation, use of artificial intelligence, developed communication system and technical warfare, modern states are in continuous progress. Technology has reduced the distances, yet new threats and fears have emerged due to its usage. The digital world is under constant cyber threats and crimes such as hacking, bank frauds, money laundering, information theft, state secrets acquired, and even threats to critical infrastructure have become the evolving trends in cyber warfare. Both the developed states as well as developing nations are exposed to such threats leading to national security dilemma. However, developing country, having nuclear capabilities, like Pakistan, is more vulnerable to these threats. Pakistan also has large number of internet users with low information technology knowledge, thus making it further complex for the government and law-making authorities to regulate its digital world. Recently, Pakistan has faced serious cyber-attacks on important institutional websites and hackers have been able to successfully penetrate the cyber space of important installations. To prevent this from happening, legislators in Pakistan have introduced the cyber laws, which do not seem to cover the threats in depth and totality. This research paper focuses on the cybersecurity framework present in Pakistan while what are the policy options for the state of Pakistan to deal with serious cybersecurity issues is the actual matter of concern? The research methodology is qualitative in nature and researchers have used primary as well as secondary sources to draw the conclusions. At the end, few recommendations regarding the improvement in cyber protocols of the country are also put forth.

The Cyberthreat in the Contemporary Era Challenges for the security of Pakistan

The Cyberthreat in the Contemporary Era: Challenges for the security of Pakistan, 2022

Advancement in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) has transformed the world. In the contemporary era, digital technologies are playing an important role in performing daily life operations. This advancement and dependence on ICT also brought with it various types of vulnerabilities. Nowadays, institutions and individuals can be easily targeted by using cyberspace. Dependence on digital infrastructure is also increasing at a very rapid pace in Pakistan. Cyber networks are not only used by common people, but critical institutes like online banking, electric grids, and dams are also connected to digital networks. In the same way, military infrastructures like command and control systems and nuclear power plants are also linked to cyber networks. Due to this reliance on digital technologies, Pakistan is facing a constant threat of major cyber-attacks. So far, Pakistan does not have a proper mechanism to deal with the threat of cyberattacks. This study analyses the impacts of the possible cyber-attack on the security of Pakistan

CYBER SECURITY THREAT AND PAKISTAN'S PREPAREDNESS: AN ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY POLICY 2021

2022

The objective of this research is to evaluate Pakistan's existing national cyber security policy in order to understand its context, effectiveness and readiness to deter cyber security challenges. As the world has become intensively connected and digitized through the internet or information technology, securing cyber space has become the biggest challenge, and has exposed the world to the existence of a novel, global threat. Since the threat to cyber security has no geographical boundaries and is beyond the traditional understanding of security, it is considered to be a paradigm shift in the area of security. The seriousness and enormity attached to cyber threats intrigued us into investigating the status of Pakistan in securing its cyber space and to analyse the National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP) that was developed by the government of Pakistan in 2021 to combat cyber threats from within and outside the country. Cyber security threats and Pakistan's preparedness for them have also been analyzed in this research. This qualitative study intends to employ a qualitative technique for the collection of data, i.e., policy documentary analysis, to investigate the nature of cyber security policy.

Pakistan and Cyber Crimes: Problems and Preventions

The growth of internet in Pakistan is exceptional; it reached to the heights of popularity for an ever changing medium of information and communication in a major conservative society. This brings freedom of expression, communication and information across the country which struggled to provide free speech and information access to its people. The internet penetration is increasing very rapidly; it is very important to observe the impact of it on the society; especially when the government is constantly trying to formulate the regulation for controlling the cyber space. A well regulated cyber space leads to the expansion of information technology services speedily. This paper focuses on the prevailing development of governance policies for cyber space and defies among the agencies and information technology venders. Moreover, the case study of national bank of Pakistan and other cyber crime survey shows that a lot of law making is needed in order to reduce the chances of cyber crime.