Over the last few years, Pakistan’s digital economy has exhibited strong growth figures, with significant increases in the volume of online transactions, e-wallet subscriptions, and e-commerce. Overall, digital payments have increased by 40% in volume and 62% in value. As digitization broadens its accessibility to a predominantly low-income Pakistani society, issues of cybersecurity, digital literacy, and enforcement mechanisms must adapt as well. This is especially urgent considering the strong surge in financial frauds and online scams through mobile and online platforms. 

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reported this worrying trend in their 2024 Annual Report, and have taken preventive measures in collaboration with Fintech companies like Jazzcash to curb the rising tide of financial scams. Even though capacity-building measures through Customer Awareness about specific tools of ensuring digital security are essential, they are not sufficient in the absence of appropriate cybersecurity guardrails. For instance, data breaches in large institutions like NADRA and recent reports by CERT that suggest that the login credentials of over 180 million users have been leaked require serious critique of security flaws within Pakistan’s digital institutional and governance landscape.