Pakistan’s Limited Submarine Cables, Legacy Telecom Systems Expose Networks to DDoS Risks

Pakistan’s heavy reliance on a small number of submarine cable landing stations and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) is emerging as a critical vulnerability, significantly exposing the country to large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Experts and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have warned that existing telecom defenses, built largely on legacy technologies, are increasingly inadequate against modern multi-vector cyber threats.

In its newly released “Guidelines for Mitigation of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks,” PTA highlighted that the gap between existing security measures and sophisticated attacks is widening. The document calls for urgent modernization of defenses across all telecom operators and internet service providers (ISPs).

“The country’s digital infrastructure is concentrated around a few key points, making it highly susceptible to disruption,” the PTA noted. While major operators have implemented anti-DDoS systems, many rely on outdated technologies, leaving networks vulnerable to rapidly evolving cyber threats.

The new guidelines provide a unified framework to prevent, detect, mitigate, and coordinate responses to DDoS attacks. Key components include:

• Establishing minimum operational and technical standards for licensees.
• Defining clear roles and responsibilities for PTA, NCERT, and telecom operators.
• Implementing standardized mitigation measures, operational readiness drills, and periodic capability reviews.
• Encouraging real-time threat intelligence sharing and coordination with national and international cybersecurity partners.

Globally, DDoS attacks have exceeded 30 Tbps in 2025, driven by botnets, IoT device exploitation, DDoS-as-a-Service (DaaS), and cloud-based amplification techniques. Pakistan’s increasing dependence on Over-the-Top (OTT) and Content Delivery Network (CDN) services further emphasizes the need for hybrid detection capabilities spanning backbone networks, ISP perimeters, and cloud edges.

Under mandatory compliance, each licensee must implement robust inbound and outbound DDoS mitigation, either in-house or via upstream providers. Measures include enforcing routing hygiene, anti-spoofing controls (BCP-38 / uRPF), MANRS compliance, and securing customer premises equipment (CPEs) to prevent botnet formation. Telecom operators are also required to adopt multi-layered defenses, including:

• Protocol-based rate limiting and traffic thresholds.
• Volumetric mitigation techniques such as BGP FlowSpec, Remote Triggered Black Hole (RTBH) filtering, and
• Access Control Lists (ACLs).
• AI-driven detection systems and real-time monitoring of network activity.

The PTA stressed that these steps are essential to mitigate risks arising from Pakistan’s concentrated network infrastructure and legacy systems. The guidelines aim to create a coordinated, standardized, and resilient national defense posture against DDoS attacks, ensuring continuity of telecom and internet services across the country.

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