pakistan 
Pakistan –
On Thursday, a meeting of the NA’s Standing Committee on Information Technology was convened to discuss the security status of vital national data.
The session’s agenda was to contain the sale of illegal SIM cards and ensure capacity building within departments to combat cyberattacks.
Recently, an official from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) sparked curiosity among the masses by stating that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) system had been hacked. However, the official later changed his statement.
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He added that many unauthorized SIM cards had been issued by using the NADRA data.
The Standing Committee session was chaired by Ali Khan Jadoon in which Tariq Pervez, additional director of FIA’s Cybercrime Wing, confessed that unknown attackers hacked NADRA’s system. He said that the FIA had recently recovered 13,000 illegal SIMs in Faisalabad. He also added that due to the lack of staff members, around 89000 complaints received by his wing were still not addressed – sparked an alarming situation in the meeting. At this, FIA’s additional director changed his statement and said only the biometric system was breached and used to access new illegal SIMs.
On the other hand, NADRA dismissed the notion that the biometric system was hacked. After the meeting, a statement came from their spokesperson that the data was safe and secure and that the FIA’s statement was based on a misunderstanding.
PTA Chairman, Maj Gen (r) Amir Azeem Bajwa added that the sales of illegal SIMs have decreased since 2020. He said that no telecommunication company was allowed to sell SIMs door to door. He said that copying of thumbprints was also getting common, but this illegal activity was contained with the help of a live fingerprint detection system.
The meeting members emphasized implementing rules and regulations that will help curb the adverse effects of security breaches.
