Pakistan’s information security community is set to gather in Karachi on August 11 for InfoSec 2026, the 18th International Information Security Conference organized by Total Communications. The annual conference will take place at PC Hotel, Karachi, bringing together senior executives, cybersecurity professionals, technology leaders, government representatives and industry experts to discuss emerging security challenges, artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, cloud security and the changing role of security operations centres. InfoSec is positioned as a high profile annual platform for Pakistan’s information security sector, with participation expected from organizations across financial services, telecommunications, armed forces, intelligence agencies, government ministries, foreign missions, utilities and major manufacturing companies. The event will provide participants with an opportunity to engage with cybersecurity leaders and technology specialists while examining practical experiences and developments shaping the security landscape. Total Communications, which has organized major technology events in Pakistan including the e Banking Conference and Exhibition, Mobile Commerce Conference, InfoSec Conference, Cyber Threat Intelligence Conference and Artificial Intelligence Conference, is bringing together a broad group of stakeholders for this year’s programme.
The conference agenda will focus heavily on the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, beginning with a discussion on whether AI has changed both attackers and defenders. Mirza Asrar Baig, Founder and CEO of CTM360, will address the changing threat environment, while Faiz Ahmad Shuja, Founder of Rewterz and Co Founder of Sirp, will examine autonomous security operations centres and the challenges associated with increasing levels of automation. A fireside discussion featuring Asher Faisel Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Commtel Systems LLC, and Kashif Ul Haque, Country General Manager at Cisco, will explore AI governance and the challenge of securing AI while maintaining productivity. The programme will also feature presentations from Kaspersky, MBCOM, Thales, Fortinet, LogRhythm and Exabeam, and GBM Pakistan. A keynote address will be delivered by Muneer Kamal, CEO and Secretary General of Pakistan Banks Association, while Dr. Haider Abbas, Director General of National CERT, will also address attendees. Kashif Alam Khan, President of ISACA Karachi Chapter, is scheduled to deliver the welcome speech. Other speakers include Faraz Rafique, Country Manager at MBCOM, Tariq Othman, Regional Sales Manager at Thales, Muhammad Arsalan from Fortinet, Muhammad Eissa from LogRhythm and Exabeam, and Ata Ur Rab, Information Security Specialist at GBM Pakistan.
A major part of InfoSec 2026 will focus on autonomous response and the security implications of hosting critical information on foreign cloud infrastructure. A panel on autonomous response will examine how much organizations should trust AI to act without human intervention. The discussion will be moderated by Faiz Ahmad Shuja and will feature Mirza Asrar Baig of CTM360, Nofel Daud, Chief Digital Officer at Bank of Punjab, Faisal Anwar, Chief Information Officer at HBL, Muhammad Umair Sheikh, Country Director Pakistan at TrendAI, Sheraz Khan, Chief Experience Officer at UBL, and Sohail Khan, Chief Technology Officer at Access Group. Another major panel will examine critical data hosted on foreign clouds, including questions around sovereignty, sabotage and operational control. Muhammad Ali Manzer, Chief Information Security Officer at Bank of Punjab, will moderate the session, with panelists Muhammad Maad of Faysal Bank, Ahmed Saeed of State Bank of Pakistan, Syed Fahd Azam of Meezan Bank, Tauseef Aslam of Sky47, Jawad Khalid Mirza of Askari Bank and Zeeshan Siddiqui of Bank Alfalah. The programme will also feature a face to face discussion on cybersecurity in 2030 with Mehzad Sahar, Group Head InfoSec and Group CISO at Engro Corp, and Arif Rehman, General Manager and Chief Information Security Officer at HBL. Other sessions will address behavioral analytics, AI driven SecOps, data sovereignty, supply chain security and FortiBleed, giving the event a broad focus across enterprise security and emerging technology risks.
InfoSec 2026 is supported by a wide group of technology and cybersecurity companies representing different segments of Pakistan’s security ecosystem. Rewterz and Sirp are serving as exclusive sponsors, while Cisco is the industry engagement partner. Gold sponsors include Kaspersky, Fortinet, Thales, SOCradar, S2, LogRhythm and Exabeam, TrendAI, GBM and IBM, MBCOM Technologies, Commtel, InfoTel Pakistan and CTM360. Silver sponsors include OctoXLabs, Super Secure, ComplySec and Trillium Information Security Systems, while Access Group is supporting the conference as launch sponsor and Resecurity as tea sponsor. InfoTel Pakistan is also participating as a Gold Sponsor, with its focus on cryptographic solutions for Pakistan’s financial and non financial sectors. The event will provide a platform for these organizations to engage with cybersecurity decision makers and demonstrate technologies and approaches relevant to AI defense, digital security, cloud protection, security operations and data sovereignty. With senior representatives from banks, technology companies, government institutions and the wider cybersecurity industry participating as speakers and delegates, InfoSec 2026 is expected to serve as a major networking and knowledge sharing platform for Pakistan’s information security community.
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