The First Annual Cyber Security Conference was held at Serena Hotel, Islamabad,

Islamabad: The First Annual Cyber Security Conference was held at Serena Hotel, Islamabad, bringing together national and international experts to discuss Pakistan’s growing digital challenges and future cyber readiness. The conference was organized by EPL (Pvt.) Ltd. in collaboration with NADRA Technologies Limited, under the theme “Securing Pakistan’s Digital Future – From Infrastructure to Individuals.”
The initiative was led by Ghazanfar Khan, CEO of EPL (Pvt.) Ltd., aimed at creating awareness about the critical importance of cybersecurity across sectors.
Senior representatives from the banking sector, telecom industry, government institutions, law enforcement, and global technology firms participated in the event. Key panel discussions included “Pakistan’s Critical Infrastructure Under Threat – A National Risk Assessment,” “The Corporate Shield: Strategies for CISOs,” “Inside the Boardroom – How CEOs See Cyber Risk,” “AI & Cybersecurity — Friend or Foe?” and “Building the Digital Future.” Panelists
included Ali Manzar, Talha Ghafoor, Hasan Ayaz, Nasser Khan, Rehan Siddiqui, Javed Edhi, Amir siddiqui, Aftab Haider, Ashfaque Ahmed, Mohd Ali, Mahir  Mohsin Sheikh, Salman Dar, Idrees Awan, Brig (R) Muhammad Mukaram Khan, Noman Azhar, Zeeshan Qureshi, Zeeshan Mazhar, Montse Sanz Raffay Baloch, Bryn Bennett, Faizan Nehal, Ong Kian Yew, Jeff Mahony Dr Monis Akhlaq, Bec Jones, Hira Zainab, Amna Masood, Dr. Asma among others.
Speakers highlighted rising cyber threats, vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s critical infrastructure, data privacy concerns, and the urgent need for stronger cyber laws and national preparedness. Speakers Sajjad Mustafa Syed – Chairman at P@sha, Faisal Iqbal Ratyal – CEO at (NITB), Nighat Dad – Founder and Executive Director at Digital Rights Foundation, Ammar Jaffri – Director General at (CIT) and Kazi Muqtadir Deputy Governor at State Bank of Pakistan focused on AI and cybersecurity, incident response, financial system resilience, corporate cyber risk and national defense. The conference concluded with a call for stronger public– private collaboration to build a safer, resilient, and secure digital future for Pakistan.