Proper Safeguards Needed To Ensure Personal Data Protection: IT Experts

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th May, 2018 ) :With Pakistan adopting e-trading which needs imperative submission of personal data and the country lacks proper safeguards making it vulnerable to cyber attacks that may lead to some disastrous events in future.

Accodring to Information Technology (IT) experts, collective efforts by all the stakeholders are required to ensure foolproof protection to the personal data from crooks. Talking to APP, an IT expert from Ripha International University requesting not to be named, said online services like ride-hailing and online shopping like ventures had made inroads in the country after 2012.

But the country was never prepared to security breaches that had recently occurred forcing the quarters concerned to come up with solid measures on war footing to ensure complete data protection, he added.

He said a user's role in that regard was of utmost importance while using internet and he / she must be sensitized not to disclose any of personal information on social sites which might become a source of trouble for them after reaching in the hands of certain mafia.

He suggested users to adopt strong and unique passwords while using different applications which would at least provide some protection to their data. He said companies be enforced for installation of extra data base systems and firewalls for protecting a customers' data, which they did not ensure to save their money.

The European Union's (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law that reduced the ratio of cyber-attack there, must be introduced in Pakistan and relevant authorities must fulfill their responsibility in this regard.

Ayyaz Ali, an IT expert at a software house, said, "Cyber-crooks always remain alive and vigilant to exploit any opportunity as and when arises and the information you thought is secure could be exposed." "Secure communication channels, user IDs and passwords, right to opinion for activists are no longer secure," he warned.

The spokesperson of Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Saghir Anwar Watto said Pakistan being a developing country took a daring step while introducing legislation against the cyber-crime.

He said it was the incumbent government which had introduced Pakistan Electronic Crime Act, 2016 against cyber offenses and made operational the cyber-crime wing in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Minister for Information Technology and telecommunication (MOIT) Anusha Rahman recently directed the officials of her ministry to ensure provision of all the fundamental rights for an online user that were available to a common offline man, he informed.

A Supreme Court lawyer and member of Pakistan Bar Council Maqsood Buttar said the cyber-crime bill, or the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, would be applicable to deal with online crimes or fight with terrorism in the unregulated cyberspace.

Maqsood said the authorities concerned had failed to bring a data protection law, or a privacy law to ensure lawful protection of online data and the laws introduced were not capable to meet emerging challenges.

He said there were also no set guidelines for white hacking. "These ethical hackers look at securities, loopholes in websites. Initial few sections of cyber-crime law talks about unauthorised access and interception of data and white hacking potentially comes under that and will be criminalised.

We need an entire environment that caters to our protection and unfortunately, we do not have that," Maqsood added. He , however, urged the authorities concerned to introduce a watchdog in the country that should keep a check specifically on data breach as data played a vital role in the people's lives.

It is pertinent to mention that the recent episode of 14 million clients' data breach from the systems of the Dubai-based Careem has created a sense of insecurity among online services' users across the globe. APP/nav