ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) annual Cybersecurity Awareness Week concluded on Wednesday, highlighting preventive measures against online threats but offering little reassurance to victims seeking effective redressal mechanisms for cybercrime.
Observed from December 11 to 17 under the theme “Building a Safe, Secure, and Resilient Cyberspace”, the campaign focused largely on awareness and reporting practices rather than strengthening institutional support for affected citizens. Organised every December in collaboration with telecom operators and other stakeholders, the initiative aimed to educate users on avoiding cyber risks such as phishing, deepfakes, misinformation and online fraud.
Throughout the week, the PTA disseminated recorded messages, social media posts and advisories urging citizens not to share personal information, avoid suspicious links and report harmful or fake content directly to social media platforms. In cases where issues remained unresolved, users were advised to lodge complaints through the PTA’s Consumer Management System portal under the web content category.
However, critics argue that the campaign did not present any new or concrete solutions for victims already affected by cybercrime. While awareness messages emphasised becoming “responsible digital citizens”, they did not address longstanding concerns regarding delayed investigations and limited access to justice.
According to official figures, around 200,000 complaints have been filed with the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) this year. Despite amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act identifying 22 categories of cyber offences, the complaint-handling process remains slow and inconsistent. Citizens commonly report cases of hacking, financial fraud and online harassment, while high-profile cases involving public figures often receive priority.
The NCCIA itself faces structural and administrative challenges. Of its 534 employees, around 500 are working on annual contracts that have not been renewed since July 2025, resulting in unpaid salaries and low morale. Additionally, the agency’s limited regional presence poses difficulties for complainants, with some victims required to travel long distances to register cases.
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Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology, Syed Aminul Haque, has publicly questioned the efficiency of the NCCIA, noting widespread public distress over cyber issues such as hacking, honey-trapping and malicious online content.
A senior NCCIA official acknowledged that awareness alone was insufficient, stating that citizens required protection mechanisms comparable to those available against physical crimes.
Drive mainly focuses on prevention instead of redressal mechanism.https://t.co/ymsnNLqm16
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) December 18, 2025
Some victims have opted not to pursue complaints at all. A resident of Jhang city told Dawn that the lengthy and exhausting follow-up process discouraged people from reporting incidents of hacking and financial fraud.
As the awareness week concludes, observers say that without reforms to investigative capacity and complaint resolution, public confidence in cyber governance is unlikely to improve despite repeated awareness drives.
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