Daily Times

State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Friday that Pakistan’s inclusion in the top tiers of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) report is good news for the country’s IT industry.

Addressing a press conference she said that Pakistan position in ITU-2021 Global Cyber security was at 79 while in the current report, Pakistan ranked among the Top-tier 46 countries.

She said that the report indicated that Pakistan’s legal, technical, capacity development, skill development and organizational advancement are role models.

“The Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 shows significant improvements by countries that are implementing essential legal measures, plans, capacity building initiatives, and cooperation frameworks, especially in strengthening incident response capabilities,” the report said.

The report placed 46 countries in Tier 1, the highest of the five tiers, reserved for “role modelling” countries that demonstrate a strong commitment in all five cybersecurity pillars.

“Pakistan has performed exceptionally well in the latest ranking and has been placed in Tier 1, alongside countries like the United States, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia,” she said.

She said, “It is an honor for the nation and the IT industry that Pakistan is now included in the top tiers of cybersecurity”.

Shaza Fatima also acknowledged the collective efforts of various departments, including Pakistan Telecommunication, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the Ministry of Planning Commission, the Ministry of Defence, law enforcement agencies, and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), in achieving this milestone.