Thousands of cyberattacks blocked every month

With surge in digital payments, hackers become more active to exploit trend for illicit gains 1Link's system is actively combating the growing threat of hacker attacks amid the rising trend of digital payments in the country and blocks thousands of cyberattacks every month. 1Link Chief Digital and Technology Solutions Officer Azimullah Khan, whose organisation provides backend support for digital transactions to financial institutions, told The Express Tribune in an interview that the rise of artificial intelligence and the emergence of chatbots had further increased the importance of cybersecurity. He said digital transactions and fund transfers were increasing in Pakistan, as elsewhere in the world, but hackers had also become more active in an attempt to exploit the trend for illicit gains. Azimullah Khan said the rapid expansion of digital transactions could be gauged from the fact that 1Link's system would process 12 billion transactions in 2026, meaning more than 300 transactions every second. The value of these transactions could exceed Rs90 trillion. These transactions were processed through 42 banks, 22 affiliates, 1,306 government institutions, more than 22,000 ATMs and other channels, he said. Given the scale and widespread nature of these operations, cybersecurity had assumed even greater importance. He said this did not mean that hackers were not attempting to breach 1Link's systems. "We face cyberattacks all the time and hackers are continuously trying to penetrate such systems," he said. However, 1Link had deployed advanced and effective cyber defences that continuously thwarted these attempts. He said 1Link had been operating for 22 years and, despite handling such a large system, not a single hacker had succeeded in breaching it. Asked where most hacker attacks originated, Azimullah Khan said hackers made every effort to conceal their identity and location. However, tools were now available that could help identify them. Most hackers attempted to penetrate the system from abroad, while the number of Pakistani hackers was relatively small. He said that besides human hackers, AI-powered agents were now also attempting to carry out hacking activities. "This is a new kind of challenge." The number of AI agents connected with banks, financial institutions and other organisations linked to the system was increasing. Protocols had been developed to identify rogue or hacker AI agents, he added. 1Link was also continuously upgrading its systems to prevent scams, fraud and social-engineering attacks. Through device fingerprinting, 1Link can determine whether a user's mobile phone or other device has been changed. In such cases, additional security measures are adopted to prevent criminals from using stolen information to defraud the user. 3D Secure technologies are also being used to secure e-commerce transactions. Azimullah Khan said 1Link was established 22 years ago at the initiative of the State Bank as an organisation providing ATM switching services to banks. However, over more than two decades, 1Link had evolved into a comprehensive digital banking platform.