The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has moved to install an advanced Cyber Threat Management Platform to strengthen its ability to monitor and respond to cyber risks affecting its digital infrastructure and the telecom sector.
The regulator has started the procurement process for the platform, which is expected to become operational within three to four months. The system will continuously track global and local cyber threats and help PTA identify emerging risks in real time.
The platform will have 34 key capabilities, including External Attack Surface Management, Digital Risk Protection, cyber threat intelligence, security ratings, risk monitoring, visual analytics and global situational awareness. It will also check newly reported critical vulnerabilities and monitor changes to externally visible systems, including DNS records and open or closed ports.
The system will track data leaks and compromised credentials across the surface, deep and dark web. It will also protect the digital identities of PTA, its board and senior executives by detecting cybersquatting, look-alike domains and malicious websites impersonating the regulator. The platform will support takedown actions and incident response when threats are detected.
PTA will also use the platform to monitor cyber risks involving its licensees, customers, other stakeholders and third and fourth party entities.
It will generate security ratings and cybersecurity risk scorecards, identify links between domains, IP addresses, digital assets and geolocations, and track major external service providers for security breaches.
The cyber threat intelligence system will cover current and historical attack tactics, techniques and procedures, attack patterns, tools, vulnerabilities, indicators of compromise and major global and regional threat campaigns. It will also provide near real-time information on cyber trends, industry news and security advisories relevant to Pakistan and the telecom sector.
The platform will generate alerts when PTA, its licensees, stakeholders or third party vendors are mentioned in cyber news or threat actor claims.
It will include customizable dashboards and reports, integration with at least three major global cloud platforms and support for additional local cloud providers. The system will also integrate with established Security Information and Event Management solutions and include 24x7x365 support, maintenance, updates and training.
