UNODC, working with the Ministry of Law and Justice and key justice-sector institutions and supported by UK International Development, convened a technical review workshop to evaluate cybersecurity standards and data protection measures for the National Sex Offenders Register. The exercise served as a core diagnostic activity under the project and focused on strengthening NSOR cybersecurity across participating agencies.
Technical and operational representatives from police, prosecution services, prisons, the National Police Bureau, NADRA, PITB, KPITB and other justice-sector stakeholders reviewed the register’s current cybersecurity and data protection baseline. Participants identified risks and gaps across technical, operational and governance domains while assessing alignment with applicable cybersecurity and privacy standards relevant to Pakistan.
Discussions examined access controls and identity and access management, the role of encryption, the importance of audit trails and logging for traceability, and incident response readiness. Secure system integration touchpoints between agencies and robust logging and traceability mechanisms were highlighted as critical to maintaining data integrity and accountability across systems linked to NSOR.
Strengthening cybersecurity practices and data protection safeguards will support a more resilient and trustworthy register, improve institutional ability to act responsibly, and help protect survivor dignity while enhancing public safety across Pakistan. Findings from the workshop will generate evidence to inform remedial actions under Phase I and to guide prioritized system strengthening and integration in Phase II.
Stakeholders signalled continued collaboration to translate the workshop’s diagnostic findings into concrete remedial steps, with an emphasis on improving incident response readiness, refining access controls, and ensuring secure interoperability among justice-sector systems to raise NSOR cybersecurity to an operational standard befitting national safety and privacy commitments.
