The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has warned the public and private sector organizations, foreign missions, and freelancers against the use of VPNs, stating that the usage of any mode of communication such as a VPN by means of which communication becomes hidden or encrypted is a violation of PTA regulations. The authority has also issued a deadline for legitimate businesses to register their VPNs.
?Usage of any mode of communication such as VPN by means of which communication becomes hidden or encrypted is a violation of PTA regulations. pic.twitter.com/4okPPassSI
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) September 10, 2022
Public and Private Sectors Must Register their VPNs by 31st October
The PTA has simplified the process for those organizations who want to use VPNs for their legitimate businesses. In a public notice issued by the PTA, the authority has asked the public and private section organizations, foreign missions, and freelancers to register their VPNs by 31st October in order to avoid disruption. PTA further mentioned that the registration applications will only be accepted through the online link.
Back in 2020, PTA instructed internet users to register VPNs by 39th June 2020, however, the telecom regulator said that the exercise is being undertaken to promote legal ICT services in Pakistan and to ensure the safety of telecom users. The telecom regulating body mentioned that the process for registration of VPN is not new and has been in vogue since 2010. Authorized users can register their VPNs with PTA through a smart and swift process initiated by their service provider.
Installation of WMS to Curtail Grey Traffic
Back in 2020, the government installed WBM to curtail grey telecommunication traffic. A committee headed by the Director General of the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) was also formed to find out the causes, and how to eliminate Grey Telecommunication Traffic, which caused the loss of billions to the national kitty and pose a potential threat to national security. Later in 2020, a huge decline of about 92 percent in grey SIMs identification was observed, the documents also revealed that a total of 515 raids have been conducted since 2008, and over 504,563 SIMs have been blocked for being used in grey telephony.
Also read: PM Imran Khan Stresses on the Protection of Youth from Unethical Online Content
