Independent NEPRA compliance audits, VAPT, policy frameworks and training for Pakistan's power sector, built around the Security of Information Technology & Operational Technology Regulations, 2022.
72 HOURS
Significant cyber incident reporting
REG. 4–11
Operative obligations for licensees
IT + OT
Corporate network and plant floor
PAKISTAN
Generation, transmission & distribution
Regulatory Scope
The NEPRA Security of Information Technology & Operational Technology Regulations, 2022 require every licensed power-sector company in Pakistan to secure both its corporate IT and its operational technology. Obligations cover governance, security controls, risk assessment, data integrity, audit support, monitoring, incident response, training and reporting to the Authority.
They are already in force, and they are not guidance. The regulations apply across generation, transmission and distribution, and they reach the plant floor as well as the corporate network: SCADA, DCS, PLCs, RTUs, IEDs, HMIs, engineering workstations, and the communication links back to ISMO and the national grid.
Three things follow from that. NEPRA can direct a technical audit of your systems and expect evidence. Significant incidents must be reported within 72 hours, with quarterly reporting on top. And responsibility sits with a named cybersecurity lead inside your organisation — not with your OEM, and not with your integrator.
72 hours
to report a significant cyber incident to NEPRA
Regulations 4–11
the operative obligations on every licensee
IT + OT
corporate network and plant floor, both in scope
xSecurity / NEPRA
xLoop delivers four NEPRA compliance services: a clause- by-clause compliance audit against Regulations 4 to 11, IT and OT vulnerability assessment and penetration testing under Regulation 6, security policy and governance frameworks under Regulation 4, and cybersecurity awareness and SCADA operator training under Regulation 10.
Regulations 4–11
A clause-by-clause assessment of your IT and OT environments against every operative regulation — scored, evidenced and mapped. You get a compliance position you can show NEPRA, and a ranked list of what to fix first.
see scopeRegulation 6
Controlled penetration testing of the IT perimeter, plus a non-intrusive exposure assessment of the OT environment. We find what an attacker would find — without touching plant availability.
see scopeRegulation 4
The approved policies, SOPs and governance structure the regulations require: cybersecurity organisation, CISO or cyber lead role, asset classification, change and patch management, business continuity, and the reporting channel to NEPRA and PowerCERT. Where the documents do not exist, we write them.
see scopeRegulation 10
Awareness programmes for corporate IT staff and targeted training for SCADA operators and plant engineers, plus the response-team structure that Regulation 9 assumes you already have. Roles, accountability and reporting lines, made explicit.
see scopeClause-by-Clause
The operative NEPRA obligations run from Regulation 4 to Regulation 11: security policy and governance, security controls implementation, risk and vulnerability assessment, data integrity and confidentiality, authority-mandated audit support, monitoring and incident response, awareness and training, and regulatory reporting. Regulations 1 to 3 cover title, commencement and definitions.
NEPRA IT/OT compliance requirements by regulation
| Regulation | What it requires | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation 4 | Security policy & governance | Policies, SOPs, cyber organisation, CISO/lead appointment, asset inventory and classification, change and patch procedures, BCP, NEPRA/PowerCERT channel |
| Regulation 5 | Security controls implementation | IAM and least privilege, MFA, IT-OT segregation, firewalls and allow-listing, secure vendor VPN, endpoint and removable-media control, IDS/IPS at OT boundaries, log retention, control-room access, GPS time sync |
| Regulation 6 | Security risk & vulnerability assessment | Annual IT and OT risk assessment, vulnerability assessment across SCADA and IT, critical-system identification, remediation programme, reassessment after incidents or major change |
| Regulation 7 | Data integrity & confidentiality | Controls over IT/OT data authenticity, secure exchange with grid operators and ISMO, restricted access to critical telemetry |
| Regulation 8 | Authority-mandated audit support | Readiness for a NEPRA-directed technical audit, and an evidence pack organised for submission |
| Regulation 9 | Monitoring & incident response | Control monitoring across IT and OT, incident response plan for plant and SCADA, response-team procedures, recovery and restoration, reporting to National CERT and PowerCERT |
| Regulation 10 | Awareness & training | Awareness programmes for IT and OT personnel, SCADA operator and engineer training, roles and reporting lines |
| Regulation 11 | Regulatory reporting | Quarterly incident reporting to NEPRA, 72-hour reporting of significant incidents, documentation and correspondence with the Authority |
Regulation 4
Security policy & governance
Policies, SOPs, cyber organisation, CISO/lead appointment, asset inventory and classification, change and patch procedures, BCP, NEPRA/PowerCERT channel
Regulation 5
Security controls implementation
IAM and least privilege, MFA, IT-OT segregation, firewalls and allow-listing, secure vendor VPN, endpoint and removable-media control, IDS/IPS at OT boundaries, log retention, control-room access, GPS time sync
Regulation 6
Security risk & vulnerability assessment
Annual IT and OT risk assessment, vulnerability assessment across SCADA and IT, critical-system identification, remediation programme, reassessment after incidents or major change
Regulation 7
Data integrity & confidentiality
Controls over IT/OT data authenticity, secure exchange with grid operators and ISMO, restricted access to critical telemetry
Regulation 8
Authority-mandated audit support
Readiness for a NEPRA-directed technical audit, and an evidence pack organised for submission
Regulation 9
Monitoring & incident response
Control monitoring across IT and OT, incident response plan for plant and SCADA, response-team procedures, recovery and restoration, reporting to National CERT and PowerCERT
Regulation 10
Awareness & training
Awareness programmes for IT and OT personnel, SCADA operator and engineer training, roles and reporting lines
Regulation 11
Regulatory reporting
Quarterly incident reporting to NEPRA, 72-hour reporting of significant incidents, documentation and correspondence with the Authority
That is what the first call is for.
Audit Output
A NEPRA compliance audit should produce six documents: a compliance report scored clause by clause against Regulations 4 to 11, a risk and gap analysis, a VAPT report covering IT and OT, a Statement of Applicability, a prioritised remediation roadmap, and a closing presentation for management.
01
NEPRA Compliance Report
Clause-by-clause scoring against Regulations 4–11.
02
Risk & Gap Analysis
Findings rated and prioritised.
03
VAPT Report
IT penetration testing results and OT exposure findings.
04
Statement of Applicability
Every clause mapped to your IT and OT systems, with justifications and evidence expectations.
05
Remediation roadmap
Sequenced, with owners.
06
Closing presentation
Executive-ready, for your board or management committee.
Why xLoop
xLoop Digital’s NEPRA audits are led by certified ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 Lead Auditors, and the practice has delivered a full IT and OT compliance audit for a live 30 MW wind IPP across a head office and two plant sites. The security practice is based in Karachi.
01
Audits led by certified ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 Lead Auditors.
02
Delivered a full NEPRA IT/OT compliance audit for a live 30 MW wind IPP, covering head office and two plant sites.
03
An evidence-based, defensible assessment — not a checklist.
04
Inside a digital engineering firm operating across eight countries.
FAQ
Every NEPRA licensee in Pakistan’s power sector — generation, transmission and distribution companies. The obligations cover both corporate IT and operational technology, including SCADA, DCS, PLCs and RTUs.
The Security of Information Technology & Operational Technology Regulations, 2022 set the mandatory cybersecurity framework for NEPRA licensees. They cover governance and policy, security controls, risk and vulnerability assessment, data integrity, audit support, monitoring and incident response, training, and regulatory reporting.
Significant incidents must be reported within 72 hours, in addition to quarterly cybersecurity incident reporting to the Authority. Incidents affecting OT are also reported to the National CERT and PowerCERT.
It should not. A properly scoped NEPRA audit assesses OT passively — reviewing configurations, segmentation, access and logs rather than actively scanning live control systems. No plant downtime is required.
For a single-site licensee, roughly three weeks of engagement across scoping, fieldwork, gap analysis and reporting. Multi-site licensees take longer in proportion to the number of plants and the size of the OT estate.
Regulation 8 requires licensees to support an Authority-directed technical audit and produce evidence. In practice, that means having an organised evidence file — policies, asset inventory, access records, patch and backup logs, and incident records — ready before you are asked.
Tell us your licence type and how many sites you run, and we will scope the audit.
A first call takes about thirty minutes and costs nothing.
