PTA Shared 162 Cyber Security Advisories with Telcos in Last 4 Years

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has shared 162 advisories and security alerts with the telecom sector over the last four years.

According to the document available to ProPakistani, PTA shared a total of 39 cyber security advisories and alerts with the telecom sector in 2018-19.bIn the year 2019-20, PTA shared 40 cyber security advisories and alerts with the telecom sector. The authority shared 48 and 35 advisories and security alerts with the telecom sector in the years 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively.

On average, the authority has shared 10 to 12 advisories and cyber security alerts with the telecom sector in each quarter of the last 4 years.

According to the document, the authority inaugurated Telecom CERT Portal in March 2021 and access was restricted to PTA licensees only for bilateral information sharing on emerging threats. After the demand from the public, the authority further decided to launch the National Telecom CERT (nTCERT) for awareness of telecom operators and the general public.

According to the Authority, the important part of the nTCERT website includes the latest security advisories and alerts for the general public and awareness messages on the safe usage of Internet services.

It also includes the capacity building and workshop information and the latest information regarding Critical Telecom Data and Infrastructure Security Regulation (CTDISR). Through nTCERT the PTA receives feedback from the general public on emerging threats and suggestions to improve.

According to the PTA, through nTCERT portal, the Authority gets a high-level view of the security posture of different telecom organizations. Also, telecoms can share incident details, and Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) anonymously with the authority.