Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has formed a special team to investigate reports suggesting a massive leak of citizens’ SIM data.

 

“Following the interior minister’s directives, the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency has constituted a special investigation team to probe the matter and submit its report within 14 days,” read an official press release issued by the ministry.

 

It said that the team will thoroughly examine the circumstances, adding that those involved in the leak will be identified and brought to justice through legal action.

 

Earlier, media reports said that data of all consumers was being sold online, detailing that information regarding mobile location was being sold for Rs500, mobile data record for Rs2,000 and details of foreign trips for Rs5,000.

 

This, however, isn’t the first time that users in Pakistan are at risk of a massive data breach.

 

The National Cyber Emergency Response Team of Pakistan (PKCERT) in May issued an advisory warning that the login credentials of more than 180 million internet users in Pakistan had been stolen in a global breach, urging people to take immediate protective measures. 

 

PKCERT – a federal government body responsible for safeguarding digital assets, sensitive data and critical infrastructure against cyberattacks, cyberterrorism and espionage – had identified the breach involving a publicly accessible, unencrypted file containing more than 184 million unique account credentials.

 

The breach reportedly exposed usernames, passwords, emails and associated URLs tied to major social media services as well as government portals, banking institutions and healthcare platforms.

 

The leaked database was believed to have been compiled using malware, and the data was stored in plain text – being left completely unprotected with no encryption or password safeguarding.