SMEs: Business community seeks sound cyber security system

ISLAMABAD: The business community has urged the government to provide a sound cyber security system to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to save them from losses due to potential cyber attacks.

This was stated by Faad Waheed, acting president Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) after holding a meeting with a Chinese cyber security solution providers’ delegation during a visit to ICCI led by Ammar Jafri, former DG FIA and founder of Digital Pakistan.

He said that SMEs are the backbone of the economy and are now increasingly moving towards automation and digitisation to improve their productivity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. He urged the government should focus on formulating a specific cyber security prevention policy for SMEs to save them from business losses due to cyber attacks.

Waheed said that many SMEs are now going online to expand their outreach to wider markets and improve their business prospects. He said that Pakistan’s National Cyber Security Policy 2021 also encourages the promotion of online businesses, however, the policy is lacking in strong defence measures to protect the SMEs from cyber risks and threats.

He stressed that the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, in consultation with stakeholders, should develop a specific cyber security policy for SMEs to facilitate them in going digital. He said that Chinese IT companies providing cyber security solutions have great prospects in the Pakistani market and they should take advantage of this untapped market, especially for SMEs by investing in Pakistan.

Ammar Jafri, former DG FIA and Founder of Digital Pakistan said that Pakistan is gearing up for the 5th generation industrial revolution and stressed that the government should develop a strong digital infrastructure to enable businesses to flourish and compete effectively in the international market.

He said that the focus of Digital Pakistan is to promote connectivity, improve digital infrastructure, increase investment in digital skills and promote innovation and tech entrepreneurship. He said that the cooperation of ICCI with Digital Pakistan would be helpful in promoting digitization in SMEs.

The Chinese delegation members said that their company is one of the top cyber security solution providers with offices in Asia, South Asia and East Africa. They said that they want to introduce their cyber security solutions in Pakistan for business enterprises to save them from business losses due to cyber attacks.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023