Islamabad:
The websites openly selling citizens’ data on the Internet have not yet been closed while the team has formed earlier this month to probe data leak requested three more weeks to finalize its report.
The Federal Minister of the Interior Mohin Naqvi on September 7 took note of the illegal sale of private data from citizens on various Internet platforms after the new Express highlighted the problem in an exclusive report. Express News had put the question in the spotlight first in October 2024.
According to the express report, the private data of Pakistani citizens – federal ministers and senior officials for ordinary people – were available for sale on various websites without any government authority does not take any measure.
Acting on the Minister’s management, the director general of the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Waqaruddin Syed had formed a special investigation team of seven members and had ordered to submit a report within 14 days.
However, sources have revealed that before the expiration of the 14 days, the team wrote to the CEO indicating that it required three additional weeks for an in -depth probe to determine when and where the data leak occurred.
Sources have also declared that the NCCIA chief had ordered the special team to submit an interim report detailing the progress made so far.
Meanwhile, websites that sell data continue to operate tirelessly and institutions such as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have so far failed to block them. Express News contacted the spokesperson for the PTA, but he did not respond before the report of the report.
Express News has received reports from several citizens that these websites not only sell data, but that some people also use WhatsApp and Facebook pages to exchange this information.
