Islamabad:
The websites that openly sell citizens’ data on the Internet have not yet closed, while the team formed earlier this month to investigate data escape has requested three more weeks to finish their report.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on September 7 realized 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.
According to the express news report, the private data of Pakistani citizens, from federal ministers and senior government officials to common persons, were available for sale on several websites without any government authority that would take any action.
Acting in the Minister’s Directorate, the general director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Waqaruddin Syed, had formed a special research team of seven members and ordered him to present a report within 14 days.
However, the sources revealed that before the expiration of the 14 days, the team wrote to the DG indicating that it required three additional weeks for an exhaustive probe to determine when and where the data leak occurred.
The sources also said that the Chief of the NCCIA has ordered the special team to present a provisional report detailing the progress made so far.
Meanwhile, websites that sell data continue to operate incessantly, and institutions, including the Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan (PTA), have not been able to block them so far. Express News contacted the PTA spokesman, but did not respond until the time of presenting the report.
Express News received reports from several citizens that not only these websites sell data, but some people are also using WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages to exchange this information.
