Data vulnerabilities

Mobile SIM data, including that of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, has surfaced for sale online. Call logs, geolocation information and travel itineraries are reportedly accessible for modest sums, revealing both regulatory deficiencies and lapses in enforcement. The National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency has constituted a special team to submit a report within two weeks, yet the breach signals vulnerabilities that extend well beyond any isolated investigation.

The problem is not new. Security advisories have repeatedly warned of large-scale breaches, yet databases storing critical information for government portals and financial institutions, are often unencrypted and without adequate authentication. Such lapses facilitate identity theft and account hijacking, ultimately undermining both citizen trust and institutional integrity. This is because the country's cybersecurity framework suffers from multiple deficits. The Personal Data Protection Act 2023 sets standards, but enforcement mechanisms remain weak, leaving custodians of sensitive information with minimal accountability. Telecom operators, which handle enormous volumes of personal data, operate under limited oversight, allowing fundamental lapses in data storage and access control. Institutional capacity is equally deficient. Agencies tasked with cybercrime investigation and digital oversight are chronically under-resourced and only reactive. Inter-department coordination is insufficient, leaving gaps that cybercriminals exploit with ease.

A durable response requires comprehensive reforms. Standards for cyber security must be mandated. Public and private institutions handling sensitive information should be subjected to rigorous audits and held accountable for breaches. Simultaneously, citizens must be supported with practical digital hygiene measures - strong, unique passwords, multi-factor authentication, etc - to reduce personal exposure. As Pakistan's digital footprint expands, the stakes intensify. Breaches of personal and institutional data carry immediate implications and therefore must be stopped at the root.