ISLAMABAD: An alleged breach of privacy and national security came to light on Sunday, as it emerged that detailed personal data – including mobile SIM ownership records, call logs, and identity documents belonging to senior government officials, federal ministers, and thousands of ordinary citizens – is being openly traded online.
Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi has taken notice of reports revealing that highly sensitive information belonging to federal ministers, top bureaucrats and other public figures is available at shockingly low prices on websites accessible through simple Google searches.
In response, Naqvi on Sunday directed the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to launch a full-scale inquiry and constituted a 14-member special committee to probe the breach.
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According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, the NCCIA investigation team has already begun its work, with a mandate to identify those responsible for the breach and initiate swift legal action. The committee has been tasked with submitting its findings within 14 days.
The reports paint a disturbing picture: mobile SIM ownership details, images of national identity cards (CNICs), call data records, and even international travel histories are being traded online, sometimes for as little as Rs500.
This illicit trade reportedly extends from ordinary citizens to the highest echelons of government – raising profound questions about data security and state oversight.
Despite previous claims by the Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA) that such websites had been blocked, the illegal sale of personal data persists unabated.
The reports said that dozens of platforms continue to peddle sensitive information, leaving individuals vulnerable to harassment, extortion, and criminal exploitation.
Cybersecurity experts have described the situation as a systemic failure, warning that the breach could have far-reaching implications for national security and public trust in state institutions.
As the investigation unfolds, mounting pressure has brought the PTA under renewed scrutiny, with critics pointing to regulatory lapses under its current leadership and calling for urgent reforms to the oversight mechanisms that have allowed such widespread breaches of privacy to persist unchecked.
Several attempts to contact PTA spokesperson, Director (Communications), remained unsuccessful.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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