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March 19, 2025 - Comments Off on Establish Dept To Tackle “Blasphemy”: Council of Islamic Ideology

Establish Dept To Tackle “Blasphemy”: Council of Islamic Ideology

The chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has told the government of Pakistan that it should establish a government department to proactively and specifically tackle what he considered blasphemy on social media platforms and websites. Speaking on the International Day Against Islamophobia, the CII chairman proposed that judges be selected to focus upon and decide alleged cases of blasphemy exclusively. Blasphemy and allegations of blasphemy are very sensitive and controversial in Pakistan, with numerous cases of people being physically attacked or even killed by vigilante mobs and lone wolves. Pakistan’s very broad blasphemy legislation carries the death penalty if one is found to be guilty of allegedly committing blasphemy.

March 19, 2025 - Comments Off on Progress, New Deadline Set for Personal Data Protection Bill

Progress, New Deadline Set for Personal Data Protection Bill

A new 14-day deadline, from the time of publication, for the completion of the drafting of the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) has been set by the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication (MoITT), and forwarded to the Senate Standing Committee on IT. According to Ary News, “the revised draft of the bill has already been shared with relevant stakeholders, and their feedback is currently under review.”

March 17, 2025 - Comments Off on Suspect held for online “anti-state campaign” in wake of Balochistan train attack

Suspect held for online “anti-state campaign” in wake of Balochistan train attack

A social media and political activist was arrested for allegedly carrying out an “anti-state campaign” online in regards to the hijacking of a Pakistani passenger train on March 11, 2025, which saw 64 people dead and 380 injured. According to a statement issued by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the social media user had been arrested for ““spreading a hate campaign against state institutions” and had “shared negative propaganda and derogatory content against institutions during the Jaffar Express tragedy”.

The FIA also asserted that he was “supported ”supporting and promoting banned terrorist organisations on social media”, and was ““not only running a poisonous campaign against state institutions but also kept sharing inflammatory statements and content in favour of terrorists” on social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter).

March 15, 2025 - Comments Off on Appeal against death penalty for online “blasphemy” to be heard

Appeal against death penalty for online “blasphemy” to be heard

An appeal against the death sentence, given to a former academic in 2019, is to be heard by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on March 19. In 2013, Junaid Hafeez, a visiting lecturer in English Literature at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan, was accused of sharing blasphemous material on Facebook. In 2014 his then lawyer Rashid Rehman was murdered in his office, and Hafeez and was given the death penalty in 2019, and has been imprisoned since.

In the wake of Junaid Hafeez’s sentencing, there have been a number of cases where people have been accused of sharing blasphemous material online, and given the death sentence or life imprisonment, as recently as 2024.

March 15, 2025 - Comments Off on Pakistan Government Officially Launches “Crypto Council”

Pakistan Government Officially Launches “Crypto Council”

The Pakistani government has formally launched the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), to “regulate and integrate blockchain technology and digital assets”, a ““significant step in the country’s efforts to regulate and integrate blockchain technology and digital assets into its financial landscape”, as per a government press release. The aim of the PCC, to be chaired by Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, is “to play a pivotal role in formulating policies, fostering innovation, and ensuring a secure and forward-thinking approach to crypto adoption in Pakistan”. The PCC’s board will include the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), as well as federal secretaries for IT and Law.

March 12, 2025 - Comments Off on Government Cracks Down on illegal SIMs, and telecoms in Gilgit

Government Cracks Down on illegal SIMs, and telecoms in Gilgit

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) seized devices and SIMs that were being used for “unregistered telecommunication operations”, including “illegal internet devices”, with many in custody as per the investigation. The PTA and the FIA launched the raid, claiming that such unsanctioned and unauthorised digital activities could, in theory, be a threat to national security and cybersecurity, in the hands of bad actors.

March 12, 2025 - Comments Off on Lahore High Court Orders Banning VPNs, Social Media Registration to Tackle Blasphemy Online

Lahore High Court Orders Banning VPNs, Social Media Registration to Tackle Blasphemy Online

Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments have been issued orders by the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to immediately take action against blasphemy on social media platforms. To this end, according to Express Tribune, the court, ordered, along with the March 15th observance of “International Islamophobia Day”,

“further ordered ”the immediate termination of all types of VPNs, the registration of all social media websites, and the establishment of special courts nationwide, similar to NAB and Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs). It also ordered the appointment of dedicated judges for these courts, the creation of a special wing within the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to combat blasphemy, and the establishment of a Counter Blasphemy Department (CBD) modeled after the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

The ruling by the LHC also instructed the Federal Investigation Agency, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, federal and Punjab governments, and the Ministry of the Interior to “identify NGOs that support the publication or uploading of such content under the guise of freedom of expression.”

March 10, 2025 - Comments Off on Pakistan’s Ministry of IT against immediate regulation of AI.

Pakistan’s Ministry of IT against immediate regulation of AI.

It is too soon to regulate Artificial Intelligence, according to Pakistan’s Ministry  of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT). This also comes about as Pakistan’s Senate Secretariat shared the draft text for the “Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2024”, according to TechJuice. The MoITT conceded that regulatoin is necessary, but emphasised that, as per TechJuice, “data governance, data availability, and data protection must be addressed before considering AI regulations.” The MoITT has established an AI Committee to align with the overall National AI Plan, the latter of which has seen as task force formed by the Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives.

March 6, 2025 - Comments Off on Government Cybersecurity Team warns against new phishing, malware campaign

Government Cybersecurity Team warns against new phishing, malware campaign

https://www.techjuice.pk/ncert-warns-of-lumma-stealer-malware-spread-through-fake-captcha-pdfs/

https://www.samaa.tv/2087329922-advisory-issued-for-organisations-to-protect-against-deceptive-pdfs-and-malicious-websites

The National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT), The Pakistan government’s national cybersecurity agency issued a large-scale warning concerning the presence of a new phishing campaign that has targeted tech, financial services and manufacturing in North America, Asia and parts of Europe. According to TechJuice, the phishing campaign employs and spreads Lumma Stealer malware via “fake CAPTCHA images embedded in PDF files.” Further to this, according to TechJuice,

“Cybercriminals are leveraging search engine manipulation to distribute malicious PDFs that redirect users to deceptive websites. These sites either capture sensitive financial information or deploy Lumma Stealer malware through PowerShell scripts using MSHTA commands. The PDFs, hosted on platforms such as PDFCOFFEE, PDF4PRO, and Internet Archive, appear legitimate in search results, increasing the risk of users falling victim to the scam.

Lumma Stealer, a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) tool, is capable of extracting login credentials, browser cookies, and cryptocurrency wallet information. Additionally, it installs GhostSocks, a proxy malware that exploits victims’ internet connections. Stolen data is reportedly being sold on underground forums like Leaky[.]pro. Malicious domains linked to this campaign include pdf-freefiles[.]com, webflow-docs[.]info, secure-pdfread[.]site, and docsviewing[.]net.”

March 4, 2025 - Comments Off on Questions revolve Around Report on February Ignite Website Hack

Questions revolve Around Report on February Ignite Website Hack

The initial report on the February 11, 2025 hack of the website of Ignite National Tech Fund, a government-backed startup incubator, has been criticised for inconsistency concerning key points such as the time and duration of the breach, as well as the timeline for the website’s restoration. These criticisms point to serious concerns about the overall report’s accuracy and reliability. According to TechJuice, the report’s summary indicated that:

“...an unidentified hacker took control of Ignite’s website on February 10, 2025, at 6:30 PM. The hosting provider reportedly detected the breach within 10 minutes, restoring the site shortly after. However, the timeline contradicts this account, indicating that the breach occurred at 5:30 PM, with automated alerts sent out at 6:35 PM. The site was taken offline at 6:40 PM and restored by 6:46 PM, suggesting a longer downtime of about 1 hour and 10 minutes.”