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Enhancing Active Directory Security through Attack Simulation and Mitigation
No full textThis project, “Enhancing Active Directory Security Through Attack Simulation and Mitigation,” delivers a comprehensive, hands-on methodology for evaluating and hardening Windows Active Directory (AD) environments against real‑world threats. We built an isolated virtual lab including a Windows Server 2019 Domain Controller, two domain‑joined Windows 10 workstations, and a Kali Linux attacker host to execute and document a suite of offensive techniques: LLMNR/NBNS poisoning, SMB/NTLM relays, Kerberoasting, Golden Ticket forging, and AD graph enumeration via BloodHound. Each simulation exposed critical misconfigurations and credential‑theft vectors that mirror tactics used by advanced adversaries. To systematically close these vulnerabilities, we automated the application of CIS Level 1 Benchmarks on the Domain Controller using HardeningKitty, enforcing baseline security controls (password policies, audit settings, protocol restrictions, SMB signing, etc.) with minimal operational impact. Post‑hardening revalidation with our original penetration‑testing toolset confirmed that most attack avenues were effectively blocked, demonstrating the measurable value of industry‑vetted baselines. Academically, this work contributes a reproducible framework for security research by combining offensive testing, automated compliance, and empirical validation, while practically offering organizations a clear, repeatable process to assess and strengthen their AD deployments. Although this study focused on Level 1 controls, it lays the groundwork for future extension to CIS Level 2, domain‑wide hardening, and continuous monitoring, ensuring that enterprise AD environments can stay resilient against evolving threats
Snapchat Content Strategy for Dove and TRESemmé
No full textThis Experiential Learning Project (ELP) explores the potential of Snapchat as a marketing platform for beauty brands Dove and TRESemmé, with a focus on enhancing consumer engagement among Gen Z and Millennials. The project investigates how Snapchat’s unique features—augmented reality (AR) filters, interactive ads, and short-form storytelling—can be leveraged to strengthen brand visibility, drive customer interaction, and build brand loyalty in an increasingly digital marketplace. By integrating consumer insights, competitive benchmarking, and digital marketing strategies, the project provides evidence-based recommendations for optimizing Snapchat campaigns that align with the brands’ values of self-confidence, inclusivity, and innovation. The findings highlight Snapchat’s role as a powerful tool in bridging the gap between traditional marketing and emerging digital trends, contributing to sustainable brand growth and meaningful consumer connections
Maersk Target Market Assessment
No full textThis ELP presents a comprehensive target market assessment for A.P. Moller–Maersk as it expands into Pakistan’s inland logistics sector, focusing on trucking, air cargo, and warehousing. With Maersk’s global transition toward becoming an integrated logistics provider, our research aimed to provide data-driven insights into one of Pakistan’s most fragmented and under-researched industries. Using a combination of secondary research, market sizing methodologies, and strategic frameworks such as SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Forces, we evaluated the opportunities, challenges, and competitiveness of these logistics sub-sectors. Key findings highlight the significant growth potential in road freight, the rising demand for air cargo in high-value goods, and the need for modern, technology-driven warehousing solutions to support e-commerce and industrial expansion. By bridging critical information gaps and outlining strategic implications, this project provides actionable recommendations to guide Maersk’s investment and market entry decisions, while contributing to the modernization and efficiency of Pakistan’s logistics infrastructure
952 Bisconni Prime - Post Analysis & Way Forward - Bisconni Prime Launch
No full textThis report explores how Bisconni stepped into the premium biscuit space with the launch of Bisconni Prime, a new range created to offer a more enriching snacking experience to Pakistani consumers. The aim of the project was to understand how people are responding to this shift, from their awareness of the brand to what they think after actually trying the biscuits. It also looks at how Bisconni Prime compares to both local and international competitors and where there’s room for improvement.
To get a 360-degree view, we used a mix of research methods: surveys with 185 consumers, five focus group discussions, eight in-depth interviews, retail audits across 40 stores in Karachi, neuromarketing experiments, and a review of social media conversations. Each of the eight Prime SKUs (Mi Amor, Daydream, Divine, Eclipse, Delice, Flare, Butter Cookies, and Chip Hop) was evaluated across brand awareness, taste, packaging, advertising, and emotional connection.
Some products like Daydream and Divine stood out with strong consumer recall and appreciation for their packaging and flavors. Others, such as Delice and Flare, struggled with visibility and did not leave a lasting impression. Most people didn’t feel that the range was somewhat premium until they actually tried it. This gap between perception and experience became a key insight of our research.
On-ground retail findings showed similar patterns. Larger stores like Imtiaz and Chase Up had the full Prime range with attractive shelf placement. However, this visibility dropped in general trade stores, which ironically account for more than half of biscuit sales in Pakistan. In some cases, Prime products were placed next to mass-market biscuits, which made the premium positioning feel inconsistent. Online, only a few SKUs like Mi Amor and Daydream received meaningful attention, while others lacked digital presence.
Ad testing and neuromarketing showed that while some viewers liked the visuals, they could not connect emotionally with the ads. This was mainly due to storytelling that focused more on aesthetics than on the products.
To close the gap between what the brand promises and how it is perceived, we have recommended a range of ideas. These include a storytelling-led campaign titled “You’ll Know When It’s Prime,” PR boxes sent to food influencers, interactive social media formats like a “Prime Meter,” and in-store trials that allow people to experience the difference firsthand. We also propose premium gifting formats such as “Prime Bites” and packaging updates to reinforce quality and sophistication
Prediction of Cash Flows: Selection of A Sustainable Model
No full textThis study addresses the limited evidence on cash flow prediction in Pakistan by examining how aggregate and disaggregated accrual-based models forecast future cash flows of non-financial firms. Using 20 years of firm-level data and panel regression with lag structures, we compare five models under AIC, SIC, SSE, and PIC criteria. The results show that combining aggregated cash flows with disaggregated accruals provides the most accurate three-year forecasts. This finding extends prior work in Pakistan by offering a more sustainable prediction framework. The implications are significant for accounting regulators. It is also suggesting the adoption of enhanced reporting practices under IAS-7 to strengthen transparency and to reduce the earnings management
Standardization of Job Descriptions and Key Performance Indicators at Junaid Jamshed (Pvt) Ltd
No full textThis study investigates the standardization of Job Descriptions (JDs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at Junaid Jamshed (Pvt.) Ltd., a rapidly expanding fashion and lifestyle brand in Pakistan. The company’s growth has been accompanied by challenges such as unclear roles, inconsistent performance assessments, and weak alignment between employee responsibilities and organizational objectives. To address these concerns, the project adopted a qualitative methodology incorporating both primary and secondary research. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with department heads and employees, group discussions, and workplace observations, while secondary data comprised literature reviews and benchmarking of international best practices within the fashion and retail sectors.
The analysis revealed significant gaps between documented and actual job responsibilities, as well as overlapping functions across departments. To resolve these inefficiencies, standardized JDs were developed, incorporating core duties, required skills, decision-making authority, and growth opportunities. In addition, process flows for the Business Applications and Enterprise Infrastructure units of the ICT department were designed to improve transparency, efficiency, and interdepartmental communication.
The findings demonstrate that standardized JDs and KPIs provide a structured framework for recruitment, performance evaluation, and workforce development. By clarifying responsibilities and aligning roles with organizational goals, the framework enhances accountability, employee motivation, and operational efficiency. Furthermore, it creates a scalable HR model that can be extended to other departments, thereby supporting strategic workforce planning and sustainable organizational growth. The project highlights the critical role of HR systems in enabling a results-oriented culture within dynamic and competitive industries
Dun & Bradstreet: Unlocking Advisory Opportunities Amidst Pakistan’s Privatization Efforts
No full textThe following executive summary is an integrated overview of the findings, insights, and strategic implications from the MBA Capstone Project Dun & Bradstreet: Unlocking Advisory Opportunities During Pakistan’s Privatization. The study delves exhaustively into Pakistan\u27s changing privatization scenario and the viability of Dun & Bradstreet Consulting (DBC) to build a robust advisory presence. Based on primary sources such as expert interviews and substantial secondary research, the report considers the structural character of Pakistan\u27s privatization, stakeholder complexity, competitive market dynamics, and the inner readiness of DBC to compete in this high-risk area. Privatization in Pakistan has seen dramatic transformation over the past thirty years. From the politically directed, ad hoc privatizations of the 1990s, it has become an increasingly formal and institutionally structured process shaped primarily by the conditionality of international finance institutions such as the IMF and World Bank. These have the same underlying imperatives, i.e., to improve efficiency in operations, lighten the fiscal load of inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and contribute to growth for the economy through the private sector. The transition has not been smooth nonetheless with political push back, court challenges and inefficient institutions slowing the process down. The new 2024-2029 privatization master plan is the promise of action again. The plan outlines the future through sectors such as aviation, finance, energy, and real estate where milestone organizations such as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), First Women Bank Limited (FWBL), and electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) have been included as highpriority organizations. The drive for privatization in Pakistan is prompted by both domestic fiscal needs and international policy requirements. SOEs\u27 chronic losses have put heavy pressure on the federal budget, calling for their divestment to release funds for key sectors such as healthcare and infrastructure development. At the same time, IMF-led adjustment programs call for transparent and substantial privatization to qualify for economic assistance. Both pressures have prompted policymakers to use privatization not just as a relief to the budget but also as structural reform to improve the sectoral performance and to lure foreign direct investment.
Privatization transaction process in Pakistan has a systematic value chain involving phases such as asset identification, financial and legal appraisal, structuring the transaction, ix bidding by the investors, sale completion, and post-transaction monitoring. All of them require technical assistance and advisory services, especially with regard to regulatory compliance, stakeholder interaction, financial modelling, and risk analysis. Consulting firms have an active role across the life cycle of a privatization transaction, helping the government to carry out the due diligence, develop material for investors, monitor bidding processes, and ensure the structuring of the transaction is compatible with strategic vision and the law. Their contribution is not procedural but goes to the core of transaction integrity and credibility of institutions.
Pakistan\u27s privatization experience has been mixed. There has been success with the banking sector where organizations such as UBL and HBL saw substantial post-privatization improvements in profitability and service levels. In the cement and telecom sectors, the privatized companies have shown strength, response to need, and competitiveness. However, failed attempts like those relating to Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) show the dangers of weak regulation, unclear transaction structures, and poor post-sale monitoring. These differing instances highlight the need for strong advisory engagement and good regulatory frameworks to guarantee that privatization results create longterm value. Pakistan\u27s advisory marketplace is competitive with high-profile international firms such as PwC, EY, JP Morgan, Alvarez & Marsal, and Citigroup, and regional players such as BDO. The firms tend to compete on sectoral expertise, understanding of Pakistan\u27s regulatory requirements, and their capacity to deliver pricing models to suit the government’s limitations. The allocation of around PKR 7.73 billion for transactional advisory service for the next few years demonstrates the scale of the opportunity. Big-ticket privatization deals such as those of PIA, Roosevelt Hotel, FWBL, and several DISCOs are likely to fetch hefty advisory charges, presenting lucrative opportunities for both local and international firms. The consulting fee arrangements generally involve milestone payments and success fees tied to performance, which encourage high-quality results.
In this instance, Dun & Bradstreet Consulting, although not yet pre-qualified to be a transaction adviser in Pakistan, has strong potential. The firm\u27s strengths are anchored in its integrated advice model blending strategy, operational restructuring, and finance advice. DBC has an excellent reputation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and South Asia, primarily through mandates including public-private partnerships, utility efficiency, and x investment preparation. Its capacity to handle transactions along the entire value chain—with initial valuation through post-deal integration—makes it a strong candidate for advice positions in Pakistan\u27s privatization drive. Nevertheless, there are limitations to capitalize on this potential to the fullest. DBC\u27s model is well-suited to the Government of Pakistan\u27s strategic needs, including the introduction of turnaround solutions, rehabilitation of underperforming SOEs, and creation of transparency-led results. Its sectoral strengths in power and finance only increase the aptness. Nevertheless, DBC\u27s pricing model—largely success-fee based between 2%—does not match the GoP\u27s existing preference for milestone-designed fee structures and 1% plus-capped success incentives. Correct adjustment of its commercial model would become critical to compete.
A SWOT analysis of DBC identifies strong strengths and weaknesses. Among strengths is the firm\u27s provision of integrated advisory services involving strategic planning, operational transformation, financial modelling, and restructuring of the organization. It taps global expertise with local understanding, the result of its history working in comparable markets. Leadership is composed of professionals with track records of work in regulated sectors, allowing the firm to handle public-sector challenges well. Nevertheless, it is not yet listed among prequalified advisers, nor is it well-known enough to have strong brand presence in the public sector of Pakistan. Additionally, the existing business model is not optimized for public-sector procurement teams. These areas of weakness can be corrected by entering the marketplace through strategic alliances, reframing fee structures, and establishing local presence through focused pilot projects. DBC has significant opportunities. The pipeline of privatization offers more than 24 highvalue state-owned enterprises across the 2024-2029 horizon, spanning energy, finance, and infrastructure sectors. Also, firms with active engagement strategies can shape future initial public offer listings, particularly through channels such as the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). The IMF and World Bank\u27s active presence guarantees increased transparency and systematic appraisal, raising the likelihood of qualified selection of advisors. However, dangers loom large. Political uncertainty, the intricacies of regulations, and uncertain timeframes have the power to sabotage transactions. Also, excessive price sensitivity in selection processes means technically superior firms can lose the bid even if their price proposals are competitive.
In order to maximize this moment, DBC would need to undertake various strategies. To start with, it needs to undertake consortium-level market entrance through collaboration with prequalified domestic or foreign firms. This would enhance its technical score and ensure conformity to GoP procurement standards. Second, it needs to reshape its pricing strategy through the introduction of hybrid structures combining milestone payments with capped success fees. Third, DBC needs to engage all the key stakeholders across the Privatization Commission, multilateral donors, and sectoral ministries to gain their trust and establish itself as a credible long-term business associate. Fourth, it should start with comparatively smaller mandates in the finance sector—like FWBL or HBFCL—to develop a track record. Fifth, the establishment of a public finance specific unit within the firm would increase the level of institutional readiness for current and future public-sector transactions. In conclusion, the Pakistan privatization agenda provides a distinctive but challenging chance for consulting firms such as DBC. The payoffs are high, but so are the challenges— everything from political risk to price restrictions and stakeholder imperatives. With the technical strength, strategic vision, and regional understanding, there is no reason DBC can’t succeed. But it’s going to take the firm’s ability to adjust, to get involved enthusiastically, and to gain credibility operating in a competitive, dynamic marketplace. If it can proceed pragmatically to market, develop strategic partnerships, and match commercial frameworks to state imperatives, there is no reason why DBC can’t become the preeminent participant on Pakistan’s public-sector IT transformation journey
Role of Suppliers’ Agency in Achieving Environmental Upgrading in Global Value Chains
No full textAs environmental crises escalate globally, textile suppliers in developing countries face increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices. In this study, nine senior executives and one industry consultant were interviewed to examine how Pakistani textile companies participate in environmental upgrading within global value chains (GVCs). While external forces—such as buyer requirements and certification mandates—play a role, suppliers emphasize internal motivations: reducing long-term operational costs, securing market access, and enhancing reputation. Some firms adopt renewable energy, circular materials, and water recycling ahead of industry norms, demonstrating strategic foresight and environmental commitment. Sustainability is becoming ingrained in many suppliers\u27 core business models, despite challenges including conflicting audits and lax local regulation. International agencies (e.g., GIZ, UNDP) provide crucial technical and financial support. These results demonstrate how suppliers\u27 agency is changing and show that commercial reasoning and forward-thinking ideas, rather than merely top-down compliance frameworks, are driving environmental upgrading
The storyteller: Computer vision driven context and content transcription system for images056
No full textThe biological vision given to all life is achieved through the combination of tiny molecular organisms, which help us view and understand our surroundings. It is one of the most vital forms of receptors a human can have. Generally, human vision is a combination of sensors (the eye) for capturing light, a signal transmission path called a receptor, which allows light signals to travel to the visual cortex. The perfect combination of these systems helps us see and understand the world.
Significant research has been conducted over the last 30 years to provide machines and computers with a similar vision. Earlier work in the 1900s started with capturing light to generate an image (photography). Technology has advanced to meet higher expectations, such as perceiving and understanding what is in an image, just as humans do. However, having something like human perception, understanding, and recognition requires tremendous experience, which our brain has developed over thousands of years through human evolution. For a computer or machine to have similar capability means possessing the same amount of knowledge and an equivalent level of algorithms to process the image as our visual cortex does. The image under observation is quite different from how a machine perceives it. The entire image of a machine is a combination of multiple rows and columns, creating a matrix that represents the formation of image elements. An ideal computer vision system would have an algorithm that interprets the image matrix like how our brain does. However, that is quite far from the future, even in this modern age.
A general approach to achieving the goal of computer vision is to train machines to understand the fundamental geometry, shapes, and orientation of objects in images. The 90s era began with human-crafted shapes, sizes, and other fundamental elements of objects, training the machine to understand images and their contents autonomously. Despite achieving significant success, the research works were far from practical, as minor variations for every object could create millions of viewpoints. For example, a single change in the degree of an object will require a completely new feature map for the machine to learn. In the 2000s, we started using machine learning, which enabled us to train machines with a list of given feature matrices and support many variations. Despite the use of machine learning, a manually created feature matrix was insufficient for achieving success on a broad scale.
The advancement of deep learning enabled a new frontier towards training machines for computer vision. The era of deep learning has enabled machines to learn representative features automatically, rather than manually generating feature matrices. This behavior helps improve learning scopes for computer vision. Due to deep learning, our machines are better trained for various computer vision tasks and sometimes rival humans in specific challenges, such as detecting and segmenting objects within images. Despite this level of success, a true mimicry of the human level of vision is a challenging task that still needs to be solved. The reasons for not achieving true human-level mimicry are likely due to the amount of data required for training, computational resources, and the need for more advanced algorithms, as well as various features such as lighting, color, angle, and shape.
Generally, computer vision encompasses a wide range of tasks, covering various outcomes of human-level vision requirements, such as object detection, object segmentation, object tracking, image classification, scene classification, object classification, image captioning, and video captioning, among others. These primary and essential tasks are the foundation of computer vision. Regarding the complexity level of the tasks, image captioning is one of the most complex tasks for computer vision research. Since image captioning involves object detection, object classification, generation of relationships among the objects, and then describing the entire image in human language. Many innovative and significant research studies with state-of-the-art outcomes have been done in the past six years, generating quite a human-like caption for an image. However, they are focused on something other than the content and context of the story within the caption from the image\u27s perspective, as we humans do.
In the Storyteller, I brought a more human-like storytelling system that can caption images with the perspective of content, context, and knowledge. We have attempted to provide a working solution for several applications, including generating datasets for training Self-driving vehicles, videos for subtitle generation, and giving suggestive reasoning over MRI images. Our methodology combines capsule networks for image encoding, knowledge graphs for context and content, and transformer neural networks for text generation. Capsule networks extract spatial and orientational details from the images during feature extraction. Using a knowledge graph as a knowledge engine finds content, context, and semantics from the corpus against the generated features from the feature encoding stage. The decoding phase comprises transformer neural networks fed by the knowledge graph-driven annotation iterator. We have utilized dynamic multi-headed attention in transformer neural networks to make the model more tangible in terms of time and memory. Transformer neural networks are good at long-term dependencies, which is essential for generating the referential context of a sentence from its previous sentence.
We have utilized the MS COCO and Flickr 8k and 30k datasets for training and validation purposes. For testing, MS COCO, Flickr 8k, Flickr 30k, NoCaps, and Conceptual Caps 3M/12M have been used. MS COCO and Flickr 8k/30k have been used by state-of-the-art research in image captioning and serve as the benchmark dataset. The results have contents and contextual information, and metrics like B4: 71.93, M: 39.14, C: 136.53, and R: 94.32. The usage of adverbs and adjectives within the generated sentence, according to the objects\u27 geometrical and semantic relationships, is phenomenal. The results also reflected an in-depth understanding of positional information within the generated text due to the positional understanding encoding engine. One of the key attributes of the Storyteller\u27s result is dense captioning. A single image is captioned with up to three sentences that demonstrate complete cohesiveness and conciseness. The captioned sentences remain glued to each other and provide a proper connection
HBL, IBA host first-ever hackathon
No full textHabib Bank Limited (HBL), in collaboration with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), hosted the first-ever hackathon under its University Alliance Programme, unveiling an Agri Case Study focused on Pakistan’s dairy sector. The event encouraged students to develop technology-driven and sustainable solutions to agricultural challenges by combining business, finance, and innovation. A three-member IBA team won for their exceptional proposal, earning a ‘Golden Pass’ to HBL’s League Internship and Management Trainee Programme along with a cash prize. HBL stated the initiative aims to nurture future leaders and innovators in Pakistan’s agriculture sector