The Pakistan National Cyber Emergency Response Team (PKCERT) has been accepted as a Full Member of the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), marking a major milestone in Pakistan’s growing presence in the global cybersecurity landscape.
This achievement places Pakistan’s national cyber defense body within an elite international network of trusted incident response teams.
FIRST is a globally recognized platform that brings together cybersecurity organizations from government, academic, and private sectors to enhance coordinated responses to cyber incidents and strengthen global digital resilience. As a full member, PKCERT will now participate in joint incident response activities, share cyber threat intelligence, and engage in advanced technical training and international cybersecurity exercises.
In addition to this development, PKCERT has also recently secured operational membership in the Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT), further expanding Pakistan’s regional cybersecurity cooperation.
These dual memberships significantly strengthen Pakistan’s integration into global and regional cyber defense ecosystems focused on rapid incident response and coordinated threat mitigation.
The development reflects PKCERT’s increasing operational maturity and its alignment with internationally recognized cybersecurity standards. It also underscores the continued support of the Ministry of IT and Telecom Pakistan, which has been actively working to enhance national cyber resilience, strengthen institutional capacity, and promote international collaboration in digital security.
International cooperation played an important role in achieving this milestone, with contributions and support from partner organizations including the Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT), the Egyptian Computer Emergency Readiness Team (EG-CERT), and APCERT.
The membership is expected to further enhance Pakistan’s participation in global cyber defense initiatives and improve its ability to respond to evolving cyber threats.
