Note: This article discusses the Cyber Command of the Pakistan Army as well as the Cyber Commands of other forces. The article sheds light on the importance of cyber command and cyber security.
The Pakistan Army Cyber Command is responsible for protecting the country's military and national interests in cyberspace. Its mission is to defend against cyber attacks, conduct cyber operations, and support the overall mission of the military. The unit was established in 2018 and is based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
“The nature and character of warfare is changing. Firepower and cyber have emerged as the main pillars of future warfare and we need to improve our capabilities and capabilities in these areas. The newly established cyber command will be progressively linked with the tri-service level and will also form part of the national cyber initiatives to achieve synergy at the national level, COAS
The importance of cyber security:
Cybersecurity is the protection of Internet-connected systems such as hardware, software, and data from cyber threats. It consists of all practices and technologies that keep computer systems (hardware) and electronic data secure. According to the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
"Cybersecurity is the art of protecting networks, devices and data from unauthorized access or criminal use and the practice of ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information."
As technology evolves, new ways of committing cybercrime emerge every year. Every government or non-government institution today faces a cyber threat, even an individual with a mobile phone can become a victim of cyber crime. The primary role of a country's military is to protect the nation and citizens. While evolving technology has revolutionized war strategies and opened a new domain for armies called Cyber Warfare. Cyber warfare is usually defined as a cyber attack or series of attacks that target a country's governmental/non-governmental institutions. These cyber attacks can cause widespread destruction of civilian and government infrastructure and can even paralyze an entire state. Growing cyber security risks make it difficult for military institutions to protect their national interests.
In order to survive in today's digitized world, it is important to have a better understanding of cyber security. And for governmental and non-governmental institutions, it is necessary to take appropriate measures against cyber-attacks (cyber warfare) so that they do not fall prey to them. (Ensure security against cyber attacks by adversaries).
Where does the Pakistan Armed Forces stand on cyber security?
It was necessary for the Pakistan Army to have a cyber security command. It will protect the military's digital assets from theft by adversaries. Pakistan armed forces have always maintained the balance of power in the region and aware of the importance of the evolving war zone and have taken action accordingly. Because the Pakistan Air Force is already conducting electronic warfare in South Asia. It has always remained at the cutting edge of adopting new war strategies and countermeasures to dominate the adversaries. The Pakistan Air Force has already established a separate cyber command to protect digital assets. On 23 November 2021, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi inaugurated Pakistan's first-ever National Cyber Security Academy at the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security 2021 (ICCWS 2021) at the PAF Complex in Islamabad.
President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi inaugurated Pakistan's first ever National Cyber Security Academy
President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi inaugurated Pakistan's first ever National Cyber Security Academy
The Pakistan Navy also has a Cyber Security Department at the Pakistan Navy Engineering College (PNEC), which was established in June 2019. According to the Pakistan Navy
“The department's primary goal is to effectively operate and manage MS Cyber Security programs. However, our aim is to create this departmental center of academic excellence in cyber defense education and research in Pakistan and globally. The mission of the program is to educate and train the national workforce according to international standards/curriculum; defend and combat internal and external cyber security threats to national critical infrastructures and ensure their availability, integrity and confidentiality of relevant data/information and systems at all times.
Now Pakistan Army has also set up Army Cyber Command which consists of two main branches
Cyber Division:
Army Emerging Technologies Center
Three branches of Pakistan's armed forces (Army, Air Force and Navy) have established cyber commands to deal with cyber attacks launched by adversaries.
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