INFORMATION FLOWS, CYBER SECURITY POLICY AND HYBRID WARFARE: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

In the wake of digitalization and the proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in major domains of national power, incapacity to deter the cyber-attacks have brought the serious concerns of securitizing data for policy makers in developing countries like Pakistan. By highlighting the weak cyber infrastructure and its security policy, this study exhibits the relationship of insecure critical information flows and hybrid warfare posing challenges to the national security of Pakistan. To analyze the Pakistan’s current cyber situation, qualitative research method is adopted in which semi-structured interviews are conducted from relevant resource civil-military officials using purposive sampling technique. By analyzing through the lens of DIME ontology, the findings of thematic analysis elucidate that Pakistan’s critical information flows are insecure due to weak cyber infrastructure and delayed formulation of national cyber security policy may be responsible in making critical infrastructure prone to manifold cyberattacks. As a consequence, the threats of hybrid warfare posing challenges to the national security that are eminent due to lack of resilient measures deterring spread of disinformation and propaganda. The findings implicate by signifying the need of implementing a holistic and robust cyber security policy along with the applicability of Chinese cyber governance model with prerequisite modifications to improve the situation of cyber sector in population abundant countries like Pakistan for their best interest of national security.