Daily Times

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President, Sardar Masood Khan Tuesday urged AJK universities to produce cyber security leaders and professionals to combat rising cyber security risks.

He made these remarks while addressing at the closing ceremony of Foundation Level Cyber Security Training (RH-124) organized by the International School of Cyber Security and Mature Resource Global Technologies in collaboration with the Computer Science and Information Technology Department of the University of Azad Jammu Kashmir (UAJK).

The ceremony held at the auditorium of the university’s King Abdullah Campus, Chattar Klass was also addressed by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi, Secretary Information and IT of the AJK Government, Ms Midhat Shahzad, Director General, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Cyber Wing, Dr Mukaram Khan, Director General IT Board, AJK, Dr Khalid Rafiq, Director International School of Cyber Security, Nazir Ahmed, and Head of Department of Computer Science and IT, Dr Rabia Riaz.

Addressing directly to the management of the International School of Cyber Security, the president said “We invite you to use Azad Kashmir as an incubation lab and then you can enhance and refine your products. We can do wonders; we can do miracles for you and can contribute to Pakistan’s cyber security.”

Sharing his thoughts about emerging threats in cyber security, he said cyber-attacks were becoming more frequent and malicious, these threats include private access attempts and exploitation software, hacking phishing, ransom ware, malware, web application attacks, or network penetration are happening right now with us as individuals, communities, and as a nation. These threats, he warned, are eroding our national strength.

He said every one of us should prepare himself/herself to contribute to the country and nation by fighting back.

“We are all at the mercy of these technologies and most of our population, our commercial entities, and our government departments are vulnerable and need to be protected by developing our own cyber security infrastructure and eco-system not only for Pakistan and AJK but for the entire Muslim world, ” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK) said that the university was going to start some new and innovative programs in the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology that include artificial intelligence, data science, bioinformatics, and cyber security.

He said that information and communication technology (ICT) had an impact on almost every aspect of our lives – from working to socializing, learning to playing. The digital age has transformed the way young people communicate, network, seek help, access information, and learn.

The University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and its IT is fully capable of providing all the relevant training and workshops to conduct online classes, online exams as well as holding the online meetings of the Academic Council.

The Vice Chancellor said that the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology of the University has a very qualified and equipped faculty of 13 full-time Ph.D. faculty members, successfully running 4 years BS, 2 year.