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ISLAMABAD: A spokesperson for Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) said on Tuesday no breach had been reported by any government agency or private company following a data breach affecting 184 million Internet users worldwide.

NCERT released an advisory on May 25 regarding a major global data exposure incident involving a publicly accessible, unencrypted file containing more than 184 million unique account credentials. The breach exposed usernames, passwords, email addresses, and associated URLs linked to services from Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, as well as government portals, banking institutions, and health care platforms worldwide.

“As of now, no incidents of data breach have been reported to NCERT by any government or private organization within Pakistan,” Syed Imran Haider, the NCERT spokesperson, told Arab News, adding that his organization’s incident management response team was “vigilant, in contact with all relevant departments, and working around the clock” to monitor the situation.

“We are closely engaged with global CERTs and international cybersecurity platforms.”

NCERT had provided cybersecurity guidelines to all government departments, and each organization had established its own infrastructure for data protection, Haider said. 

The leaked database is believed to have been compiled using infostealer malware, malicious software that extracts sensitive information from compromised systems, with the data then stored in plain text and left completely unprotected, with no encryption or password safeguarding, Haider explained. 

The NCERT advisory had recommended changing all passwords, especially those reused across accounts, and to activate multi-factor authentication on all services, particularly financial, email, and administrative accounts.

“Users are advised to use unique, complex passwords for every online service, avoid storing passwords in emails or unprotected files, consider a password manager to securely handle account credentials,” the NCERT spokesman said. 

Users were also advised to monitor account login activity for any anomalies and use credible online services that can help determine whether their email addresses, phone numbers, or other personal data have been exposed in a data breach.

Commenting on the potential impact of the breach, cybersecurity expert Dr. Shahid Sultan said Pakistani users were at risk of personal account hijacking, identity misuse, and targeted scams due to the leaked login credentials.

“Banking and financial service accounts may be compromised, enabling unauthorized transactions and potential financial loss,” he told Arab News, calling on all users and organizations to remain vigilant, report suspicious activities, and act on the precautionary measures suggested by NCERT.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday condemned in the “strongest possible terms” an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school building where dozens of Palestinians sheltering inside were killed as well as the recent episode of far-right Israeli Jews assaulting Palestinians outside the Al-Aqsa mosque. 

A large rally in Jerusalem marking Israel’s capture of the city’s east in the 1967 war descended into chaos on Monday as far-right Israeli Jews confronted and assaulted Palestinians, fellow Israelis and journalists.

The annual “Flag March” drew tens of thousands of people, chanting, dancing and waving Israeli flags after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a longtime flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian tensions. 

Violence broke out in the walled Old City of East Jerusalem shortly after midday when young marchers began harassing the few Palestinian shopkeepers who had yet to shutter their stores ahead of the rally. The marchers, mostly young Israelis who live in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, then began to target Israeli left-wing activists and journalists observing the rally. Reuters reported that the demonstrators shouted nationalistic slogans and called for violence against Palestinians, chanting: “Death to Arabs,” while a Palestinian woman and journalists were spat on by a group of young settlers, and nearby Israeli police did not intervene.

“Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the latest provocative actions by Israeli occupying power as well as illegal settlers that aim to undermine the religious, historical and legal status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the foreign office said in a statement.

“Such actions are unacceptable and constitute a flagrant violation of international law and have the potential to further escalate an already volatile situation in the region. Pakistan calls for upholding the sanctity and historical status of the holy sites, and preventing Israel from any further provocations.”

Separately, at least 54 Palestinians have been killed, most of them in a school building sheltering displaced families, during Israeli air strikes on Gaza overnight on Monday. 

The Fahmi Al-Jargawi School in Gaza City was housing hundreds of people from Beit Lahia, currently under intense Israeli military assault. At least 35 were reported to have been killed when the school was hit.

“The latest reprehensible attack against a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza is an example of continued Israeli impunity.” the foreign office said. 

“The harrowing images being witnessed by the world in the aftermath of the attack that resulted in dozens of deaths, many of them children, should be a wake-up call for the international community. These attacks must end forthwith, and Israel must be held accountable for its heinous crimes.”

Pakistan has for decades supported the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.