Webinar on “Implementation Roadmap – NEPRA’s Information Technology (IT) /Operational Technology (OT) Cybersecurity Regulations

By Daily Independent On Jun 12, 2023

Islamabad,

NEPRA in line with NEPRA’s drive of “Power with Security”, today hosted a workshop on “Implementation Roadmap for NEPRA IT/OT Regulations” with an aim to create awareness amongst the electric power licensees for implementation of NEPRA IT/OT Cybersecurity regulations published in September, 2022 for compliance. The webinar was led and addressed by Chairman NEPRA, Mr. Tauseef H. Farooqi, followed by Mr. Mehzad Sahar, Group Head InfoSec, Engro Corporation and Mr. Razi A. Farooqi, Head Cybersecurity, K-Electric. The webinar was attended by a large number of Power Sector’s Professionals.

Chairman NEPRA, Mr. Tauseef H. Farooqi, emphasized on significance of the webinar in his opening remarks. He stressed upon the urgent need for adopting a proactive approach to defend power sector assets and networks against potential cyberattacks. He elaborated that NEPRA’s licensees can strengthen their defenses against cyber threats and contribute to the overall resilience of the electric power sector by adhering to NEPRA IT/OT Regulations.

Mr. Mehzad Saher explained in detail all domains of NEPRA IT/OT Regulations, the importance of having cybersecurity skilled resources, awareness and training. He explained that the cybersecurity assessment is a continuous process, however, the OT assets vulnerability scan is more sensitive because of its critical nature. Mr. Razi A. Farooqui sanitized the participants about baseline policies’ processes and tools required to implement the NEPRA IT/OT Regulations. He also explained about Governance framework, Hardening of Industrial Control Systems and implementation roadmap for Operational Technology Cybersecurity.
The workshop concluded after detailed Questions & Answers session of the participants with the Chairman and the Speakers.