The federal government has begun work on establishing a dedicated Federal Cyber Emergency Response Team (Federal CERT) to strengthen cybersecurity across ministries, divisions, and other public-sector institutions, according to information available on the initiative.

The new body will operate within Pakistan’s existing national cybersecurity structure and will report through the government CERT mechanism to the National CERT, as set out under the country’s CERT Rules 2023. Those rules define the Federal CERT as a sectoral CERT responsible for federal government entities and other public-sector bodies.

Federal CERT to Monitor Threats and Respond to Cyber Incidents

The Federal CERT is expected to monitor cyber threats, detect attacks, and coordinate rapid response to incidents affecting federal institutions. It will also provide cybersecurity support to government departments and help improve information-sharing and coordination across the public sector.

Under the CERT Rules, sectoral CERTs are tasked with functions including collecting information on emerging threats, conducting advanced threat analysis, issuing alerts and warnings, managing vulnerabilities, and carrying out security assessments.

The move comes as the government expands its broader cybersecurity framework for public institutions. The National CERT is already responsible for incident management, security audits, forensic and malware analysis, capacity building, and other cyber defense functions.

The National CERT has also introduced the Pakistan Information Security Framework 2026 and recently launched a cybersecurity handbook for federal, provincial, and public-sector organizations, reflecting a wider push to standardize government cyber resilience and incident response.

As part of the Federal CERT rollout, the recruitment process for a director and cybersecurity specialists has also been initiated. National CERT has separately been recruiting technical staff under its broader “Cyber Security for Digital Pakistan” program, including experts in incident management, penetration testing, threat intelligence, audit, and compliance.

Once operational, the Federal CERT is expected to act as a dedicated cybersecurity coordination point for federal organizations, helping protect government digital infrastructure while improving detection, information sharing, and response to cyber incidents.

The initiative builds on Pakistan’s National Cyber Security Policy 2021, CERT Rules 2023, and the government’s evolving information-security framework for federal institutions.