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PTA unveils five-year plan to boost cyber security, digital infrastructure

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  • NTCSS aims to improve the digital resilience of the telecom sector.
  • Roadmap stresses multi-stakeholder route, improved collaboration.
  • Cyber resilience, capacity building key pillars of the five-year plan.


With the aim to boost the country’s cyber security capacity and increase digital resilience, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Tuesday issued its five-year Cyber Security Strategy 2023-2028 to ensure increased protection of the telecom sector against cyber threats.

The strategy aims to mitigate the potential impact of cyberattacks that pose a threat to Pakistan’s national security, economy and public services by improving cyber security awareness and education, investing in cyber security research and development, and collaborating with a range of partners, both in the public and private sectors.

The National Telecom Cyber Security Strategy (NTCSS) strives towards increasing the resilience of existing telecom infrastructure against cyberattacks.

Based on six foundational pillars, each targeting a specific aspect of cyber security, such as legal framework, cyber resilience, proactive monitoring and incident response, capacity building, cooperation and collaboration, and public awareness, PTA’s five-year plan reflects a holistic approach towards achieving a secure digital infrastructure in the country.

Stressing a multi-stakeholder approach, the roadmap aims to foster active collaboration between public and private sectors, regulatory bodies, telecom operators, private security firms, academia, and civil society with an inclusive strategy aiming to create a united and comprehensive front against cyber threats.

Apart from strengthening cybersecurity, the PTA also aims to address capacity-building issues by creating a technically skilled workforce and managing the existing “brain drain” that the country is witnessing due to the increased global demand for cybersecurity professionals.

The regulatory body aims to collaborate with key stakeholders such as industry experts, academia, and government organizations, with efforts focusing on building domestic talent pipelines through professional training.

The PTA has also directed all its licensees to set up a dedicated CISO office with the necessary manpower and appointment of a C-level security officer (CISO) to ensure due importance to the cyber security in their organization and to improve recruitment/retention of talented cyber security resources.

With regard to bringing cyber awareness to the masses, the policy provisions the utilisation of digital mediums and services of telecom operators to educate the people regarding cyber incidents, their targets, processes and mitigations to mobile phone users.

The body also aims to work with telecom operators and educational institutions and plans to introduce relevant material into the national curriculum to bring awareness to the masses on the issue of cybersecurity.

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Cybersecurity firm reports exposure of sensitive DeepSeek data on the internet.

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The New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz has discovered a cache of sensitive data from the Chinese artificial intelligence business DeepSeek that was mistakenly exposed to the public internet.

In a blog post released on Wednesday, Wiz reported that examinations of DeepSeek’s infrastructure revealed that the company had inadvertently exposed over a million lines of unencrypted data. The materials were digital software keys and chat logs that seemingly documented prompts transmitted from consumers to the company’s complimentary AI assistant.

The chief technical officer of Wiz stated that DeepSeek promptly safeguarded the data following the notice from his organisation.

“It was removed in under an hour,” stated Ami Luttwak. “However, this was exceedingly easy to locate, leading us to believe we are not the sole discoverers.”

DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comment.

DeepSeek’s rapid success after the introduction of its AI helper has exhilarated China and incited concern in America. The Chinese company’s evident capacity to rival OpenAI’s skills at a significantly reduced cost has raised concerns regarding the viability of the business models and profit margins of U.S. AI behemoths like Nvidia and Microsoft.

By Monday, it surpassed the U.S. competitor ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store, prompting a worldwide decline in technology stocks.

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WhatsApp launches bulk channel management functionality

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WhatsApp has initiated testing of a bulk channel administration feature on iOS for select beta users, enabling the simultaneous selection of many channels, hence enhancing the efficiency of managing following channels.

This essential update enables users to perform bulk activities, including muting many channels simultaneously, designating them as read, and altering notifications. If the chosen channels are muted, users will now have the option to activate notifications. Users can swiftly silence unmuted channels in one action.

Additionally, this feature enables users to unfollow many channels simultaneously, thereby optimizing the process of decluttering their channel list. This change is particularly beneficial for users that oversee numerous subscriptions, as reported by WABetaInfo.

Previously, users were required to manage each channel individually, rendering tasks such as muting or designating channels as read laborious and time-consuming.

The functionality provides enhanced flexibility and control over channel subscriptions, enabling users to efficiently manage notifications. The solution streamlines laborious operations for consumers who subscribe to numerous channels, hence enhancing their entire experience.

Accessibility
The bulk management feature is presently accessible exclusively to a limited number of beta testers who installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS using the TestFlight application. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, plans to expand the feature’s availability to a larger user base in the next weeks.

This update demonstrates WhatsApp’s dedication to enhancing user experience by offering a clear and efficient method for managing channels and notifications.

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Pakistani internet slowdown: ongoing submarine cable issue

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Even after two weeks, the global submarine cable AAA-1 problem that was discovered on January 2 near Qatar has not been fixed, causing sluggish internet connection in several Pakistani towns.

According to a representative for Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the issue has affected customers’ capacity to effectively access social media applications and browse the online. Even with initiatives to fix the problem, social networking sites still lag during busy times.

Internet traffic has been redirected via alternate channels to lessen the impact, and more capacity has been set up to stabilize the service.

The PTCL representative promised that “Internet service across the country is operating normally, and there will be no issues with web browsing,” noting that social media applications’ lag is common during

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