[ad_1]
National cybersecurity policy and 5th generation war
The MINISTRY of Information Technology & Telecommunication (MoITT) recently published the National Cybersecurity Policy 2021.
The directive proposes the establishment of a national cybersecurity framework that includes cybersecurity response teams, legislation, the establishment of the national competence center, awareness campaigns and public-private partnerships.
The policy also discusses the scope, implementation, results, and deployment method.
With the support of the research units and the orientation of BS, MS and Ph.D. Cybersecurity programs, the country seems to be on the right track to secure its cyberspace: the battlefield of the future.
The in-depth coverage of the related areas makes it a valuable document to use as a basis for (many) improvements that may be needed in the future.
Cybersecurity challenges are many and varied, and policy makers have sought to address current and future challenges.
However, the policy is not comprehensive as it appears to be silent on a number of key issues including, but not limited to, fake news detection, social media regulation, cryptocurrencies, intellectual property, book and software piracy, and the dark web, etc. Cyberspace Every country is severely affected by fake news.
By the time the fake news is weakened or the official version of the news is shared, the damage desired by the initiator would have already been done.
Fake news affects the economy in no time, and the delayed response makes the effects catastrophic.
The cybersecurity policy remains silent about how the fake news is detected and weakened, what remedial measures are taken? And what is penalized for spreading fake news, etc.? This segment is so important that it needs to be covered separately and comprehensively in national cybersecurity policy.
Social media is a source of information sharing, and the spread of misinformation on social media is quite robust. Since social media is a powerful tool, it must be used responsibly too.
The responsibility for ensuring that the user behaves responsibly rests with the government. It is imperative to regulate social media in such a way that the civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens are not impaired.
The government can involve civil society, technocrats and intellectuals to formulate guidelines that can gradually become part of cybersecurity legislation.
It is also important that the government take some valuable initiatives to understand the opportunities that social media presents to expose crimes against individuals and the state.
Areas in which the crime or planning the crime can be smelled include, but are not limited to, suicide planning, behavior modification in individuals, planning the crime, expressing extremist views, arresting suspects after a crime, and shared allegiances.
The status of national cybersecurity policy will continue to increase if it addresses the areas of national importance in a targeted and appropriate manner.
Policies will be most beneficial when their contours are closely related to protecting the national interest in cyberspace.
The 5th generation war is waged through bits and bytes, chits and chats, likes and shares, and sharing a multi-line narrative on social media.
The policy is expected to be improved to suggest proactive measures in this regard. The policy was considered tacit on the subject of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin and other variants of blockchain-based mining currencies have gradually gained acceptance in the world and can be used to buy goods and services in more than 50 countries.
In Pakistan, there have been few cases in the recent past where the people dealing with the issue have been made difficult by law enforcement agencies.
A resolution to legalize the status of cryptocurrencies was passed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly a few months ago.
It is the responsibility of the State Bank of Pakistan to legalize (or at least clarify) the status of cryptocurrencies and their use to buy and sell goods and services.
The dark or deep web consists of websites that are not indexed and cannot be found using search engines. The Dark Web is accessed through online payments and these websites are not publicly available.
These pages can be used for various crimes against humanity. The guideline also does not explain how the deep / dark web and the transactions taking place in the dark web are treated.
The cybersecurity policy can also address intellectual property, plagiarism and piracy of software and books, etc. to make yourself more valuable.
Although the formulation of the cybersecurity policy is a good step, many areas have not yet been addressed and only a few have been discussed.
The need of the hour is that our cybersecurity policy be broader and more holistic in order to address the current and upcoming challenges in national cyberspace: the battlefield for the 5th generation war.
—The author is Associate Professor of Computing at NUML Islamabad:
[ad_2]
