Islamabad:
The main security tsar of the country has finally noticed the illegal sale of citizens’ private data on several Internet platforms after Express News highlighted the problem in an exclusive report. Express News had brought the problem to the first care center in October 2024.
Express News revealed on Sunday that despite its previous report, the private data of Pakistani citizens, from federal ministers and senior government officials to common persons, are available for sale on several websites without any government authority taking any measure.
According to the report, there are dozens of online websites where citizens’ data are opened openly for sale, with fixed rates. In these platforms, the mobile phone location is available for RS500, mobile data record details for RS3,500 and foreign travel details for RS5,000.
They also offer information linked to an international mobile equipment identity number (IMEI) for RS25,000, while the color of national identity cards of citizens (CNIC) are also sold in these sites.
The IMEI number is a unique code that identifies each mobile phone. Normally, Telecom operators used it to record a device on the network, block stolen phones or help recovery. However, if this number falls into the wrong hands, it can be misused several ways.
One of the biggest risks of filtering an IMEI number is tracking. With access to telecommunications databases, criminals can use an IMEI number to trace the movements and location of a telephone.
Another danger is cloning, where the IMEI is copied on another device, which allows someone to go through a phone on the network. In some cases, a phone could even be falsely reported as stolen and blocked, which makes it useless in mobile networks.
When an IMEI number is combined with other filtered personal information, such as copies of identity cards or call records, it becomes even more dangerous. Criminals can build a detailed profile of the contacts, habits and movements of a person, and then exploit this data for scams, fraud or blackmail.
The report stressed that criminal groups could use these data for financial fraud, deceit and damage people. In some cases, people may not even know that their identity card had been misused, for example, in judicial bail processes or fraudulent transactions that involve properties.
He questioned why the practice of selling data is not yet controlled despite the fact that it had already stood out in October 2024.
After the transmission of this news report, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi realized the matter and ordered the National Cyber Crime Research Agency (Nccia) to carry out an investigation.
The general director of the NCCIA then formed a special research team and ordered him to present his report within 14 days. “The team has had the task of investigating all aspects of data escape, and according to their findings, those involved will be identified and taken before justice,” said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
