Pakistan must adopt a data-driven and intelligence-led approach to cybersecurity to protect national interests as digital transformation accelerates, Ms. Adeela Waqar, Director Labs at National CERT, said on Tuesday.
Delivering a keynote address at the Risk Associates CyberSec Summit 2026, Ms. Waqar said cyber resilience now extends beyond incident response and has become central to national security, critical infrastructure, and economic stability.
She warned that increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, particularly those targeting financial systems and critical infrastructure, require proactive national preparedness rather than reactive measures.
Highlighting Pakistan’s response, she pointed to the Pakistan Information Security Framework (PISF), ongoing capacity building, and the expanding role of National CERT as a central hub for national cyber intelligence.
Ms. Waqar also stressed the importance of trusted, indigenous cybersecurity technologies, calling for closer collaboration between government, industry, academia, and technology partners to strengthen cyber resilience and reduce systemic risks.
At the conclusion of the session, Dr Aftab Rizvi presented Ms. Waqar with a shield of appreciation, recognizing her leadership and the growing partnership between public and private sectors in advancing Pakistan’s national cybersecurity agenda.
