VPN ban could hike IT sector operational costs by $150m annually: IT firm

The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), the country’s apex representative body for the IT sector, warned this week that internet slowdowns and bans on virtual private network (VPN) services could lead to financial losses and outages. can lead to and increase operational costs. The industry grew to $150 million annually. Pakistan’s IT sector has been growing rapidly in recent years, whose exports have reached $3.2 billion. FY24.According to Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP), Internet speed in Pakistan has decreased by 30-40% over the past few months due to the federal government’s crackdown on malicious content. Steps have been taken to implement firewall across the country. Protect government networks from attacks,elections, with the government saying the blockade was to prevent anti-state activities and X’s failure to abide by local Pakistani laws. Refusal of Govt. “Internet slowdown and blocking of Virtual Private Network (VPN) services will definitely translate into an existential threat as it will result in irreparable financial loss, IT and IT-enabled services (IT Disruption of services in export of ES)., and reputational damage,” P@SHA chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed said in a statement released Tuesday, “cautiously estimating” increased IT operational costs from industry VPN blockages at $100-150 million per year. between