ISLAMABAD, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The National Cyber Emergency Response Team (PKCERT) of Pakistan warned that login credentials and passwords of more than 180 million internet accounts in the country have been stolen in a massive global data breach.
It was learnt from an advisory on Tuesday that the agency had urged citizens to take immediate protective measures to secure their online accounts.
The advisory revealed that the breach involved a publicly accessible, unencrypted file containing over 184 million unique account credentials on different platforms, including social media.
According to the agency, the breach included usernames, passwords, emails, and associated URLs for major global services like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, as well as government portals, banking institutions, and healthcare platforms worldwide.
"The leaked database is believed to have been compiled using infostealer malware, a malicious software that extracts sensitive information from compromised systems," the advisory noted.
PKCERT, a federal agency tasked with protecting Pakistan's digital assets, warned of severe potential impacts of this breach, including account takeovers, identity theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive government portals and other sites.
To safeguard against these threats, PKCERT advised users to immediately change their passwords and enable multi-factor authentication on all online services, particularly for financial and administrative accounts.
"Timely action is essential to limit the impact of this massive credential breach and prevent subsequent compromise of systems and identities," it stated, stressing the need to change compromised credentials, enforce multi-factor authentication, and raise user awareness of data breach risks. ■
