Experts aim to promote cybersecurity
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Tech experts, strategists and chief executives of IT companies have vowed to promote Pakistan as one of the leading cybersecurity solution providers after it played an instrumental role in getting an edge over India during the recent conventional war.
IT companies see cybersecurity solutions as an opportunity to grow as it is an emerging field in the modern world, which can be considered either a challenge or an essential strength of every country, company or entity.
For the first time, cyber warfare was witnessed by the world during the military conflict between Pakistan and India, enhancing significantly the importance of cybersecurity and its related technological solutions.
Tech expert and former Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) chairman Muhammad Zohaib Khan said cybersecurity has proved to be a crucial strategic strength of Pakistan in achieving superiority during air and ground military operations, which will not only further build a strong image of the country in IT, but will also aid in ramping up its exports to different countries.
He said Pakistani IT companies have already established their reputation as quality and innovative service providers in various countries and their ethical hackers and cybersecurity professionals are a highly preferred choice by renowned companies across the world.
It is high time that Pakistani IT companies ought to work aggressively to promote cybersecurity and AI security solutions in a host of countries to enhance the volume of exports, he remarked. What's more, cybersecurity is a specialised field, which fetches high-value projects from foreign clients while considering their customised requirements.
IT exporter and Hexalyze CEO Saad Shah said Pakistani authorities, in collaboration with local companies, should foster Pakistan's new specialty in defence and commercial aspects at government-to-government levels and through global trade fairs.
He said the world would be surprised to see that Pakistan with merely $3 billion of exports per annum dominated vis-a-vis a country considered the global IT hub with exports of hundreds of billions of dollars.
He pointed out that Pakistan will not only boost its exports, but will also explore new markets in the Middle East and Asean region for its cyber and AI solution providers.
The government should roll out a comprehensive policy for public and private sector entities and establish cybersecurity departments to protect their assets and businesses effectively from cyberattacks in the wake of recent military clash with the neighbouring state.
The World Economic Forum's Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 report shows the world needs 3.4 million cybersecurity experts to support today's global economy, but the industry is struggling to fill that gap. The biggest threat to cybersecurity is the unavailability of its professionals worldwide, the report said.
P@SHA AI Committee member and IT expert Mehwish Salman Ali said cybersecurity professionals are limited across the world and the situation is same in Pakistan, hence, IT companies and universities should impart training to professionals through boot camps and specialised degrees on a war footing.
Realising the ever-increasing importance of cybersecurity and its implementation through AI, the government should allocate a budget for this particular field and introduce an updated curriculum in consultation with industry experts.
Pakistan should prepare cyber guards in large numbers to cater to its national requirements as well as the emerging global demand, which is highly possible considering the youth population and their tendency to acquire IT skills, she said.
The chief executive officers of various IT companies suggested that the government and the private sector should develop an aggressive strategy to train professionals as cyber guards - specialists, consultants and experts.
Besides, three to six-month boot camps for the aspiring professionals, degrees from one-year diploma to bachelor programmes on a medium-term basis and MS to PhD programmes on a long-term basis should be launched in universities.
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