KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched ‘Cyber Shield’, a comprehensive cyber resilience strategy, to counter growing global and domestic cyber threats to the financial ecosystem, aligning with international best practices.

As part of its Vision 2028 agenda, the SBP launched Cyber Shield, a major initiative aimed at strengthening the safety and robustness of the country’s banking and financial system.

The banks have been facing increasing incidents of cyber crimes, while the international organisations believe that every second Pakistani is facing the cybersecurity problem.

With the rapid digitisation and very high growth of online payments, cyber threats have also increased. Bankers said the situation is not alarming, but there is a need to implement quick remedies to control it, which would help strengthen the banking system in Pakistan.

Outlines key priorities to counter growing threats by 2030

“The milestones laid down in the strategy will be implemented in a phased manner by 2030. All regulated entities are required to align their internal cybersecurity programs with the strategy to ensure compliance,” said the SBP.

The central bank said the strategy has been designed to better protect banks and financial institutions from cyber threats, thus ensuring that people and businesses can continue to access financial services safely.

The SBP said it set out a clear roadmap to help financial institutions strengthen their systems and controls, prevent cyber incidents, respond quickly when cyber threats materialise, and recover effectively from them.

“As the banking ecosystem faces increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, the strategy aims to enhance cyber defences of the regulated entities through a holistic, forward-looking and collaborative approach,” said the SBP.

Bankers said cybersecurity experts are not available to meet the growing demand in financial institutions, as many young Pakistani experts prefer jobs abroad with higher pay. There is no attractive policy to retain cybersecurity experts in the country.

The SBP said the Cyber Shield focuses on five key priorities: strengthening the ability of banks to withstand cyber incidents, improving governance and accountability for cybersecurity, encouraging cooperation and information-sharing across the financial sector, building skilled cyber talent, and continuously updating security practices to keep pace with new risks.

“The SBP will closely monitor both global and domestic cyber developments and will update the strategy as needed to address emerging threats,” said the SBP.

By strengthening cyber resilience across the banking sector, SBP aims to safeguard customers, support digital innovation in a secure environment and ensure financial stability, it added.

About 90 per cent of bankers believe that cybercrime is the biggest challenge confronting the banking industry in the country, according to a previous survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Pakistan.

Seventy per cent list fraud as their major concern, and 60 per cent believe terrorism financing is the biggest threat, the survey showed.

“Banks in Pakistan operate within an evolving financial crime compliance ecosystem,” said the survey report.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2026