The Ministry of Finance and Revenue’s official data, which was hacked in a cyberattack two months ago, is now being shared via email with all other governments and financial firms.
During a report in Geo News, Amir Atta, the CEO of social media company, was mentioned, The culprit claimed to have shared 72GB of official data with us, via certain official connections, from the year 2012 to 2022.
He said that “we verified it and published it later,” adding that it was ironic how cyber attacks were rampant, leaking data massively.
In Pakistan, the hacker contacted one social media platform and exchanged only a small sample of data. The communication was verified to be an official communication from the finance ministry containing important information about Pakistan’s economy and security.
The initial response from a ministry spokesperson was that nothing of the sort had happened. According to a senior official, the ministry will issue a statement in the near future.
Later, the ministry issued a statement that news was circulating on social media about a hacking attempt and leak of the official data.
It was clarified that this news item pertains to an incident of hacking reported some three months ago. Thereafter, instant steps had been taken and a thorough cyber security audit was conducted. The veracity of the news was not established.
Meanwhile, the Finance Division has put in place numerous measures and protocols to further reinforce the cyber security of its IT infrastructure and official data, the statement concluded.