ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has launched a Security Operations Centre to monitor its digital infrastructure, identify cyber threats and coordinate faster responses to security incidents affecting the regulator’s systems.
The centre will provide continuous monitoring of networks, servers, endpoints and private cloud environments, according to an SECP announcement issued on October 20. The initiative is intended to strengthen protection of critical information assets as the regulator expands its digital services.
National Database and Registration Authority Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar inaugurated the facility, while SECP Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu briefed him on the commission’s technology reforms and infrastructure modernisation.
Continuous monitoring of systems
A security operations centre brings together monitoring tools and specialist processes to detect suspicious activity across an organisation’s technology systems. Rather than relying solely on isolated alerts, it allows security teams to review potential incidents across multiple sources and coordinate their response.
For a financial-sector regulator, those capabilities matter because digital systems support corporate filings, regulatory information and interactions with businesses and market participants. Maintaining the availability and integrity of such services is an important part of regulatory operations.
SECP said its centre will operate in line with recognised international cybersecurity standards and practices.
Project partners and support
The initiative has been funded by Karandaaz Pakistan as an implementing agency for the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Inara Technologies Pakistan enabled the project, while REWTERZ is supporting it through a managed security services arrangement, according to the regulator’s announcement and subsequent reporting.
The arrangement combines investment in monitoring infrastructure with specialist operational support. Effective incident response requires both technical systems and the ability to investigate, prioritise and act on potential threats.
Wider financial-sector coordination
SECP is also planning a framework for sharing cyber-threat intelligence and coordinating incident responses across capital market institutions. The proposal would connect institutional security operations with a broader sectoral approach to managing cyber risks.
That work relates to the commission’s proposed role as a sectoral Computer Emergency Response Team and security operations centre. Sharing information about emerging threats can help institutions identify similar attacks and respond more consistently.
The launch forms part of SECP’s wider technology modernisation efforts. During the inauguration, officials also discussed the use of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to improve services and make regulatory processes more efficient for businesses.
The new centre gives the commission a dedicated platform for monitoring its systems while supporting further coordination on cybersecurity across Pakistan’s regulated capital markets.