Islamabad: The online system of the Islamabad Security Municipality has gone offline following a hacking attempt, a police official aware of the incident said on Saturday.
Officials said the attack took place two days ago and caused the system to shut down.
Hackers breached a major data server on Thursday, accessing critical data and records, including information related to criminal databases. In response, servers running the Complaint Management System, Crime Management System, Human Resource Management System and various software and applications were immediately shut down.
The system firewall is designed to alert authorities of any unauthorized access attempts. According to officials, there is no backup or alternative server to run the software and applications.
As a result, the institution’s IT department blocked all access to software and applications. These logins are required to access various servers and applications.
Officials said this is not a typical hacking incident; rather, the disclosure of login credentials and passwords due to simple use, credentials are easily guessed by officials. Many system software and applications are outdated and out of date, increasing vulnerability.
The compromise system includes various services including mobile apps, smart police vehicle records, police station data, video analytics, Islamabad traffic police operations, electronic data and crime records.
Working on an independent line, the Kota Aman camera control system remains secure because it is autonomous and cannot be accessed without a secure ID.
When contacted, police spokesman Taqi Jawad confirmed the hacking attempt and said the firewall had raised an alarm, causing all access to be blocked as a backup. He explained that for the past two days, all logins have been closed to update their credentials, affecting the availability of various police officers.
Jawad did not give a specific answer about the shutdown of the server and the respective application, saying it had to consult with the relevant officials.
