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Information of Over 115 Million Pakistani Mobile Subscribers Exposed in a Massive Data Leak
Friday, May 15, 2020
Although the exposure of personally identifiable information might not lead to direct losses for the affected users, it can expose them to phishing scams and possible SIM swap attacks. The data could also be misused by political actors and telemarketers to influence the mobile subscribers’ decision.
Ilia Kolochenko, the Founder & CEO of web security company ImmuniWeb, says there are various avenues for the misuse of personally identifiable information by various rogue entities.
“The database may be valuable for spammers and unethical advertising agencies. If proven to be reliable and authentic, unscrupulous businesses may leverage the data as rocket fuel to promote their products across the nation. While some political parties may well use data to promulgate their electoral campaigns or discredit their rivals in a smart manner.”
Kolochenko says cybercriminals could also use the data to obtain more information about the affected mobile subscribers.
“As for professional cybercriminals, they will unlikely have a major interest in the database given that many leaked details about the victims can be crawled on Facebook or obtained from previous data breaches.”
He adds that the data could also be used to launch more sophisticated and targeted attacks against people of interest. The best option for the affected mobile subscribers would be to change their telephone numbers, according to Kolochenko.
“Nonetheless, cyber mercenaries may aptly exploit the data to identify mobile numbers of journalists and politically exposed persons (PEP) to launch targeted and highly sophisticated attacks on their mobile devices. Thus, victims who believe that they may be at risk, should urgently consider changing their numbers.” Read Full Article
SafetyDetectives: Interview With Ilia Kolochenko – ImmuniWeb
