Russian hackers are reportedly also seeking to steal sensitive information belonging to Pakistanis, after news of Israeli hackers’ activity in Pakistan. Pakistan’s government institutions are being attacked by hackers from Russia’s Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group.
Sources claim that the federal government has sent a circular warning against these operations to all provincial governments, ministries, and divisions.
According to insiders, the circular offered advice on how to prevent cyberattacks from the hacking network supported by Russia.
Government Warning For Institutions on Russian Hackers
“APT hackers striving to get access to sensitive information,” according to the government circular. It advises using separate servers for offline and online networks.
“The location of all types of files should be kept in sight and incoming traffic of Internet and the user’s control should be strengthened,” circular further advised.
The government letter also suggests institutions for limiting Internet usage to a small number of users and checking software through digital code signing before using it. The circular further suggests that backups of sensitive data be kept at all costs.
“The passwords must be changed regularly at the administrator’s level,” it advised. “The institutions should prepare a comprehensive plan to tackle any emergency situation,” the government recommended.
It should be noted that a recent government advisory had cautioned against Israeli hacking efforts while advising to avoid sharing personal information with questionable organizations.
Personal data and documents should not be shared with unauthorised websites, according to cyber security regulations. The recommendations advise not clicking on unidentified links in order to protect yourself from hackers.
Additionally, as a precaution, users should avoid installing unknown and suspect applications on their devices and should also avoid utilizing public WiFi.
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