The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) recorded more than 10,000 cybersecurity alerts during 2024–25, escalating approximately 1,500 incidents for further investigation and coordinating the blocking of 534 malicious IP addresses and internet domains. According to the PTA’s Cyber Security Annual Report 2024–25, the authority’s National Telecom Security Operations Centre (nTSOC) monitored emerging threats, coordinated responses with telecom operators and issued 151 cybersecurity advisories covering software vulnerabilities, phishing, ransomware and other malicious activities.
The report highlights a rise in cyber threats targeting Pakistan’s telecommunications infrastructure, government institutions, universities and other critical sectors, particularly during heightened regional tensions in April and May 2025. During this period, the nTSOC tracked more than 112 major cyber incident claims, 25 distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and 104 dark web threats targeting Pakistan. Telecom operators successfully mitigated around 25 DDoS attacks, while a dedicated cybersecurity control room was established to improve coordination among government agencies and relevant institutions.
The PTA also warned about the growing use of artificial intelligence in cybercrime, including voice-cloning fraud, AI-generated phishing messages and deepfake impersonations of government officials. Attackers are increasingly exploiting stolen credentials, deceptive communications, outdated telecom equipment and weak security controls to gain unauthorised access to digital networks. The report further revealed that more than 30 academic websites were defaced or infected with malicious web shells, while thousands of university credentials appeared on dark web marketplaces.
Regarding regulatory oversight, the PTA reported that 36 telecom licensees had been integrated with the nTSOC for cybersecurity monitoring and threat intelligence sharing. During the reporting period, 50 telecom licensees underwent cybersecurity assessments by registered third-party audit firms, while 35 were subjected to regulatory validation audits conducted by the authority.
The assessments showed varying levels of cybersecurity compliance across the telecom sector. Incident management recorded 93.3% compliance, while continuity management and reporting requirements achieved 91.7% and 95.8%, respectively. However, weaknesses remained in malware protection, which recorded 61.1% compliance, followed by critical telecom infrastructure management at 65.2%, monitoring at 71.9% and cybersecurity framework implementation at 76.6%.
To strengthen digital security, the PTA introduced the Critical Telecom Data and Infrastructure Security Regulations 2025, updating the framework established in 2020. The revised regulations expand requirements for asset management, risk assessment, data privacy, cloud security, insider threats, business continuity and incident response, while strengthening identity verification and access controls.
The authority also outlined plans to develop dedicated 5G security guidelines, improve protection against DDoS attacks and automate cybersecurity audits. Under its proposed 2025–26 programme, the PTA aims to ensure full audit coverage of Category I and Category II telecom licensees and conduct additional validation audits of selected operators.
The report emphasises that stronger technical safeguards, continuous threat monitoring and closer cooperation between regulators and telecom operators will be essential to protecting Pakistan’s expanding digital infrastructure against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
