Tips for Protecting Critical Infrastructure

Most of our Nation’s critical infrastructure now runs on the Internet. The systems that enable us to live our daily lives starting from the information systems, financial institutions, transportation systems, and more are all dependent upon a digital ecosystem. As cyber breaches continue to rise in frequency and scale, it is critical for all Pakistanis to understand their role and take steps to protect our critical national infrastructures.

SIMPLE TIPS 

Every day people connect to critical infrastructures without even realizing it from their smart phones, tablets, and computers. Here are three ways to do your part in helping secure our critical infrastructure by protecting your devices that connect to critical infrastructure systems and practicing safe online habits. 

Keep a clean machine. 

Keep the security software, operating system, and web browser on your devices updated. Keeping the software on your devices up to date will prevent attackers from being able to take advantage of known vulnerabilities.

Enable stronger authentication. 

Always enable stronger authentication for an extra layer of security beyond the password that is available on most major email, social media and financial accounts. Stronger authentication (e.g., multi-factor authentication that can use a one-time code texted to a mobile device) helps verify that a user has authorized access to an online account. 

When in doubt, throw it out. 

Links in email and online posts are often the way cyber criminals compromise your mobile devices. If it looks suspicious even if you know the source it’s best to delete or, if appropriate, mark it as ”junk email.” 

Make your passwords long & strong. Use complex passwords with a combination of numbers, symbols, and letters. Use unique passwords for different accounts. 

Secure your Wi-Fi network. Your home’s wireless router is the gateway entrance for cybercriminals to access all of your connected devices. Secure your Wi-Fi network, and your digital devices, by changing the factory-set default password and username.

Identification for Development (ID4D)

Biometric identification system in developing countries is becoming an indispensable governance tool for ensuring access to educational opportunities, financial services, health and social welfare benefits program, as well as allowing electoral participation for citizens in making transitioning democracies more transparent and strong. 

The recently launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) goals spearheaded by the United Nations through a deliberative process involving its 193 Member States, as well as global civil society, also highlights the role of robust identification systems and their importance to development specifically as one of the proposed SDG targets (#16.9), but also as a key enabler of the efficacy of many other SDG targets.

Last year the World Bank also launched its Identification for Development (ID4D) agenda highlighting the transformational potential of biometric ID systems for the delivery of basic services to the poor, with the goal of making “everyone count” by providing legal identity and delivering digital ID-enabled services to all. A person lacking a legally verifiable ID suffers legally, politically, socially, and economically. But in the developing world, enormous gains can be obtained from extending services and opportunities to all in new ways that can help developing countries improve electoral processes, political participation, functioning of governments and civil liberties. This all can help lead countries with poor democratic record transform in to a fully functional democracy.

In the next post I will be discussing the ways in which NADRA biometric ID system has improved the political participation in Pakistan and helping strengthen democracy. 

Future or Funeral of Mobile Phone Industry in Pakistan

Mobile phones once were thought of as only indispensable in the rich world but the way mobile phones are transforming lives in low income countries it has become an essential and indispensable tool for socio-economic development. For many areas in Pakistan, having limited availability of communication roads, postal services, fixed line services, health services and financial services, Mobile telephony represents the first modern infrastructure of any kind. Mobile phone services have brought new possibilities and opportunities to both the urban and rural, the rich and poor, the young and old in Pakistan. With more than 119 million mobile phone subscribers and a penetration rate passing 70% it is one of world’s fastest growing markets. The penetration of mobile phones in Pakistan – especially to the poor in far flung areas – has done more to alleviate poverty than any number of aid programs combined.

The mobile telephony industry in Pakistan is booming and there is scope for far greater development. In recent times, however the action of the Pakistani government suspending mobile phone services across the country has outraged its users and seriously put in jeopardy many future investment plans. Telecom operators with billions lost in revenues on special occasions such as Eid festival or national events such as independence day celebrations are likely to pull out of investing. Senior officials of the mobile phone companies have expressed resentment over the blackout of mobile phone services and have threatened to postpone their plans of investing billions of dollars in 3G and mobile banking technology.

The habit of suspending of mobile phone services under the pretext of security risk and terrorism in Pakistan takes its origins from the volatile province of Balochistan where the government is fighting nationalist elements in an on going battle. Over the last couple of years, the government has been guilty of causing what many are calling “Blackouts” – suspending mobile phone services in most parts of Balochistan during occasions such as celebrations marking Independence Day and Defense day. Due to the small size of the Balochistan population, such draconian measures didn’t receive widespread attention or condemnation from either the media, civil society, or organizations protecting digital rights and civil liberties. Additionally, the blackouts’ financial impact on telecom operators was low enough that they were able to easily comply with government instructions for suspending service in the entire region.

Even though the past success of such a strategy is relatively questionable, the Pakistani government took the same approach on the Eid Festival in August when mobile phone users witnessed a blackout on a greater scale affecting millions of mobile phone users in Pakistan’s major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta. Shoppers were paralyzed, friends were disconnected, businesses were unable to order stocks on time – all of this resulting in losses while millions of people were unable to send Eid greetings to their loved ones.

One shopper termed the experience as traumatic: “We were at the same shopping mall but my wife and kids were somewhere else and we could not catch up with each other till morning”. Another local business man was furious as he was unable to contact with a manufacturer in time to order more supplies. “Eid is the only high peak business season in these distressing times and if we are unable to make money our families will starve”. Asad, a college student was fuming with the government’s decision to suspend mobile phone services this past August. “This (pointing to his iPhone) is the hub of my social life and the government has taken it away from me”. The use of mobile phones is so commonplace in Pakistan that it has become part of people lives to such an extent that they feel lost without it.

The mobile phone industry in Pakistan is already facing stiff challenges in the form of declining revenues, cut throat competition, customer retention, sim activation policies, rising operational costs and necessary investments required for rolling out 3G networks. To further frustrate the industry, the government has obscured its national security plan involving the temporary shutting down of entire networks on festivals.

According to industry estimates, the mobile phone sector incurred more than 3 billion rupees in losses after services were suspended on Eid-ul-Fitr in August with another 600 million rupees lost in September on Love Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Day. Now the government has again announced to suspend mobile phone services in all major cities of Pakistan on Eid-ul-Azha which is to be celebrated across the country on the 27th of October 2012.

The Eid Festivals bring peak voice and sms traffic on all networks. A billion sms messages exchange traffic on networks and a 400 percent increase is seen in voice traffic. Telecom companies also need to invest in network infrastructure to cope with peak network traffic and minimize service outages along with investing in new packages and promotions to attract customers.

The recent actions in Pakistan suggest that the government may take mobile phones for granted and that concerns over internet censorship or issues with blackouts matter very little. We often forget how much these technologies have transformed and improved people’s lives for the better. Instead of further developing and promoting the mobile industry to be able to provide future 3G/4G services we are systematically pushing the industry towards its funeral. In times of great uncertainty and fear some people are constantly trying to curtail civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism. We must confute them and show them that terrorism can be stopped without giving up liberty and to sum it up in the words of Benjamin Franklin: “Nations that have traded liberty for some temporary security measures deserve neither.”