ISLAMABAD: In a serious data breach, the personal information of 2.7 million Pakistanis was compromised from the National Database Authority between 2019 and 2023, the Ministry of Interior was informed on Wednesday.
A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) led by senior Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials and comprising representatives from various intelligence agencies, after completing its investigation into a data breach from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). I discovered a leak. , geography news report.
JIT has submitted a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs alleging that the data of 2.7 million Pakistani citizens was stolen from the NADRA database between 2019 and 2023.
It found that NADRA's Multan, Karachi and Peshawar offices were suspected of being involved in data theft and recommended action against relevant officials of the agency.
The report cited sources as saying there is evidence that NADRA data has also surfaced in Argentina and Romania.
The stolen data was allegedly moved from Multan to Peshawar before finally arriving in Dubai.
The report says there is evidence that the data was later sold in Argentina and Romania.
The JIT recommended technology upgrades and departmental and criminal proceedings against those found responsible for the lapses.
Although the issue of NADRA's data vulnerabilities has been raised in the past, it only gained attention after leaks of information about some senior military officials came to light.
In November 2021, a parliamentary committee was informed that vulnerabilities in NADRA's security framework could have led to the personal data of millions of Pakistanis being compromised.
In an earlier meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications, a senior FIA official revealed that certain biometric records were hacked.
It was later revealed that only the biometric system used for SIM authentication among others had been “compromised” and not the entire data record, Dawn reported.
The leak is a matter of concern as NADRA is considered to be a highly specialized custodian of people's personal information.
(issued March 27, 2024, 11:28am IST)