K-Electric services hit by cyberattack

KARACHI:

K-Electric experienced an attempted cyber-incident earlier this week, a spokesperson of the power utility said on Wednesday.

"While all critical customer services including bill payment solutions and 118 call centre are operational and fully functional to ensure the integrity of our systems, as a precautionary measure, we have isolated a few non-critical services," he added.

According to the spokesperson, customers may experience some disruption in accessing duplicate bills from the KE website. "As an alternate, duplicate bills may be availed from the nearest K-Electric Customer Care Centre."

The KE teams have initiated consultation with international information security experts and are also collaborating with local authorities in this regard.

He further said that any inconvenience to customers was regretted as the power utility was following cybersecurity protocols.

Last month, a major cyberattack by Indian spy agencies was identified by Pakistan's intelligence apparatus, and various targets of the attack are being investigated.

The military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement that an advisory was sent to all government departments and institutions in order to identify lapses and enhance cyber-security measures in place.

Indian intelligence agencies were involved in various cybercrimes, including deceitful fabrication by hacking personal mobiles and technical gadgets of government officials and military personnel.

The statement also said various targets of the attack are being investigated and the army has "further enhanced necessary measures to thwart such activities" and action against violators of standard operating procedures (SOPs) on cybersecurity will be taken.

Hacking attempts by Indian hackers against Pakistani websites, including those of the government and financial institutions, have seen an increase in the recent days.