According to a notification from the Ministry of Interior, 72 investigative officers currently have access to telecom consumers’ data, as reported by sources within the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
The PTA’s probe into 21 complaints of data leakage has uncovered that police officers were involved in selling consumer data. Officers from Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh were found to be selling this data for between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 3,000 per transaction, generating up to Rs. 250,000 from such sales.
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Some officers implicated in these sales have claimed that their accounts were compromised when caught. The PTA has informed the Ministry of Interior about the data leaks and sales involving law enforcement personnel.
In response, the PTA has urged the Ministry of Interior to revise its standard operating procedures (SOPs) and develop a strategy to prevent future data leaks by police and security personnel.
