Major data breach hits tech giants, other sectors; NCERT issues warning
Technology
NCERT urged the public to immediately change passwords for their social media and online accounts
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) has issued an urgent advisory following a massive global data breach that compromised 184 million unique account credentials.
In its statement released on Monday, NCERT urged the public to immediately change passwords for their social media and online accounts.
The breach reportedly exposed usernames, passwords, email addresses, and associated URLs connected to major platforms, including Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, along with various government websites, banks, and healthcare systems around the world.
The compromised data is believed to have been gathered through "infostealer" malware—malicious software designed to harvest sensitive data from infected devices. Alarmingly, the exposed information was stored in plain text format without any encryption or security measures.
NCERT stressed the importance of taking swift steps to reduce the risk of further exploitation and protect potentially affected systems
Potential Consequences of the Breach:
Successful exploitation of the leaked credentials may result in:
1. Credential stuffing attacks — automated login attempts across services using reused credentials
2. Account takeovers — unauthorised access to user accounts and personal services.
3. Identity theft and fraud — theft of digital identity for committing scams or impersonation.
4. Ransomware deployment and espionage — targeted attacks on individuals and enterprises.
5. Government and critical sector compromise — unauthorised access to sensitive government systems.
6. Targeted phishing and social engineering — tailored scams using personal communication history.
