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ISLAMABAD: A top military official on Tuesday said some incoming and outbound internet traffic landed in India before being routed to its destinations, posing a security risk for Pakistan.
“The network which brings internet traffic into Pakistan through submarine cables has been developed by a consortium that has Indian companies either as partners or shareholders, which is a serious security concern. We would like to propose a new alternative network system to be set up in Gwadar for the flow of internet traffic,” Director General Special Communications Organisation (SCO) Maj-Gen Amir Azeem Bajwa informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology during a briefing.
Mr Bajwa was seeking approval for the establishment of a cross-border optic fiber connectivity network under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The project will include laying of over 800 kilometres fibre optic cables along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) starting from Khunjerab to Rawalpindi to Gwadar and finally terminating in Karachi.
He explained to the lawmakers that a consortium - without Indian partners - would be engaged to lay the network along the CPEC.
“Security of CPEC and its related projects is of utmost priority for Pakistan,” Mr Bajwa said.
According to the general, the new network will link Pakistan with the outside world through China. It will also reduce Pakistan’s dependency on submarine cables that are often damaged, disrupting internet services in the country.
After the army officer convinced the members on the strategic importance of the project, the committee approved it and directed the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) and the SCO to work together on the plan.
The committee expressed displeasure over the failure of government departments and divisions to switch to an automated office environment.
The e-office project was started in 2007 and revised in 2011-12. The project deadline is set for June 2017. The committee felt that the project had been prolonged.
After the Ministry of Information Technology spent $480 million and trained more than 7,000 government employees on e-office, only a handful of offices such as the Establishment Division and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the commerce ministry switched to the paperless environment.
Minister of State for IT Anusha Rehman said her office had done its part to train government employees on the computerised systems.
“However, most ministries and divisions are unwilling to adopt the new advanced mechanism and resisting the change. We proposed to the prime minister twice to make it mandatory for all offices to switch to the automated office environment at the earliest,” said Ms Rehman.
Realising that the automated system would ensure transparency and efficiency, the committee chairman, MNA Mohammad Safdar of the PML-N, directed the state minister to take up the matter with the prime minister in the next cabinet meeting.
MNA Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari of the PML-N suggested discussing the matter in the National Assembly to emphasise the importance of e-office.
Published in Dawn January 25th, 2017
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Comments (12) Closed
good decision regarding fiber optic cable from china
In terms of IT security, there is no difference at all.
Extremely important project! We will get faster and more reliable internet.
@ABBOTT are you for real? How many people in Pakistan are going to sit at intercept traffic at ONU or NOC level, implementing Wireshark on a SBC or TDM link?
Come now don't be so naive, encryption of the upstream transmission prevents interception of the upstream traffic when a tap is added at the PON splitter. Upstream encryption also prevents ONU impersonation: data arriving from an ONU must be encrypted with a key available to that ONU only. There exist secure methods of key distribution, which I won't get into on a public forum.
Needless to say, your statement "in terms of IT security, there is no difference at all" is a fallacy, in terms of ALG traffic there is a tremendous difference. In terms of bandwidth, encryption and decryption may be implemented at the physical layer, data link layer, or even within the MAC sub-layer.
Heck, if you are really hardcore you can implement encryption below the MAC? Where did you study network security, youtube?
This is indeed a 'high' priority initiative laying of the OC. As for the eOffice, civil servants do not want change as they rather stick to their archaic analogue methods which allows the to continue their corrupt practices!
@The SECURITY DUDE Cool explanation. Thanks.
Can anybody explain, depending on India, China or any other country. There is no way out on Optic for data security.
@The SECURITY DUDE I propose you to be our next IT Minister :-)
This should have been planned and designed in at the very outset of the CPEC network of land routes for ground traffic. This afterthought sounds like ill planning and/or not-so-integrated design approach due to non-inclusion of relevant expertise. Now besides undue publicity of this backbone of optical communication highway(s), it also seems to expose possibility of who knows how many other important lapses. Critical elements cannot be 'dum-chhallas' (i.e. add ons) in mega projects like CPEC. Besides, it is more efficient, robust, secure and cost effective compared with the later add ons.
@The SECURITY DUDE you are going into the high level security 'layers'. The first part of business in the lowest level, physical layer, i.e., (the Long Haul) Optical Communication Highway - the Optical cable itself (of course along with its other essential elements such as regenerators, etc., without making it too technical). From the news item it appears it is the this layer they are talking about.
@Shahid I am talking about an EPON and PON to TDM link which is what this article is referring to.
Excellent proposal by the army, again the civilian government seems to be sleeping? Yes, it should have been planned earlier but its not late to incorporate now, as its a matter of national importance and security. Unlike most self serving politicians, there are good people who sincerely care for the well being and prosperity of the country.