Copyright 2005 Sci-tech World
				  Dawn

 		         Saturday, 1 January, 2005

SECTION:  National sci-tech scene, Page 11

HEADLINE:  Cabinet approves broadband policy

HIGHLIGHT:  Seminar on cyber security

BYLINE:  Muqaddam Khan

BODY:


  The speakers at a seminar on cyber security underlined the need for
strict implementation of the existing laws including Pakistan
Electronic Transaction Ordinance for safety of computer networks and
secure transactions over internet.

  The speakers, at "Pakcon-2004", a cyber security convention
organized by PakCon last week, elaborated on various aspects of
security over internet and informed the participants about risks
involved in financial transactions over internet.

  Javed Wadood, an IT professional, pointed out that hacking over
internet is very common all over the world.  Quoting a survey in the
USA, he said that in the USA more than 50 per cent of young people
working on internet were involved in some sort of hacking.  In
Pakistan, he said, the figures were much higher although its awareness
is too low.

  Stressing the need for creation of an information technology
security department in every organization, he said many banks have
now gone online, but they are still not so safe, so steps be taken to
protect them.

  Moreover, stock exchanges and other financial institutions are
highly relying on network systems, so security is imperative for
them.

  President PakCon 2004, Faiz Ahmed Shuja, grouped hackers in three
types: white hat hackers who hack computers for research or to create
methods to protect data, black hat hackers who enter computers and
steal or corrupt data, and grey hat hackers who are involved in both
the activities.  He informed that most of Pakistani websites and
computer networks were hacked from Romania.

  Lawyer Javed A Sarwana spoke on e-commerce and cyber crime laws in
Pakistan.  He told that Pakistan started taking steps against cyber
crimes much late as the Pakistan Electronic Transaction Ordinance was
promulagted in September 2002.  This law mainly promulgated to
regulate and develop e-commerce in Pakistan.  Despite having a law,
people still do not reply on transactions over internet, he added.

  He quoted a recent survy conducted by an IT magazine and said that
most of the people, who do some sort of financial transactions on
internet do not reply on transactions in Pakistan.

  Sarwana said the government had introduced Electronic Crime Bill, but
it yet to be enacted.  He regretted that the laws were not implemented
in Pakistan.

  Emmanuel Gadaix of Telecom Security Task Force, speaking on
"Phreaking: past, present and future", said before hackers became a
media fixture, there was a time when phreakers were the rage, abusing
phone switches was open to anybody with a blue box.

  A hacking competition among young computer users was also held.

LANGUAGE:  English