Pakistan Sets Up 24/7 Cybersecurity Control Room Amid Rising Threats

Sun, March 08, 2026

The Government of Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (nCERT) has established a 24/7 National Cybersecurity Control Room at its headquarters in response to a heightened cyber threat environment.

The control room has been set up amid concerns over potential targeted cyberattacks on critical government websites, networks, and national digital infrastructure during the current security situation. According to an official notification, the facility will serve as the National Coordination Center for monitoring, analyzing, and responding to cyber incidents across the country.

All Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Sectoral CERTs, and Provincial CERTs have been instructed to establish dedicated monitoring setups, ensure round-the-clock surveillance of their networks and critical assets, and immediately report any suspicious activity or confirmed incidents to nCERT for a coordinated response.

The directive stresses strict coordination protocols that were previously implemented during national events and proved effective in countering cyber threats from hostile actors. Key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoIT&T), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), National Information Technology Board (NITB), National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), provincial IT boards, and other relevant bodies, have been directed to nominate focal persons and submit updated contact details to nCERT by March 4, 2026.

Two senior officials, Dr. Muhammad Yousaf, Director CERT, and Dr. Mujahid Shah, Assistant Director (Incident Management), have been appointed as focal persons for national-level coordination during the monitoring period.

The notification also includes National Baseline Security Guidelines for the prevention of cyber incidents. These guidelines outline mandatory measures to counter phishing attacks, website defacement, credential leaks, data breaches, ransomware attacks, and system misconfigurations. Recommended steps include implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for email security, deploying Web Application Firewalls, enforcing multi-factor authentication, encrypting data at rest and in transit, enabling centralized logging through SIEM systems, conducting regular vulnerability scans, and maintaining offline, air-gapped backups to mitigate ransomware risks.

In addition to technical controls, the advisory calls for stronger business continuity and disaster recovery preparedness. This includes redundant ISP connections, tested failover mechanisms, secure configuration management practices, and alternative communication channels for emergency escalation.

The establishment of the control room reflects increased vigilance by national cyber authorities to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of Pakistan’s digital infrastructure during what has been described as a sensitive and security-critical period.

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