ISLAMABAD: National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has rejected claims by a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official regarding hacking of its biometric data.
NADRA spokesman strongly denied a statement by FIA Official Tariq Pervez delivered to National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology, saying the biometric data of the general public is completely secure and there has been no data breach.
“FIA official’s remarks on breach of biometric data was based on misunderstanding,” he said, adding that a clarification has been sought from the FIA regarding the remarks from its official during a briefing to a standing committee of the National Assembly.
The FIA cybercrime wing official during a briefing to the National Assembly’s standing committee on Information Technology said that the NADRA data has been compromised and used illegally for biometric verification of the SIMs.
ایڈیشنل ڈائریکٹر ایف آئی اے طارق پرویز کے قومی اسمبلی کی قائمہ کمیٹی براءِ آئی ٹی میں دیئے گئے بیان پر نادرا نے سخت تردید جاری کردی:
عوام کا بائیومیٹرک ڈیٹا مکمل طور پر محفوظ ہے: ترجمان نادرا
نادرا کا بائیومیٹرک ڈیٹا ہیک نہیں ہوا: ترجمان نادرا
1/n@ReplyTariq— NADRA (@NadraPak) November 25, 2021
The committee’s members discussed widespread use of illegal SIMs in the country and observed that stopping the sale of such cards was a challenge. The committee called for enhancing capacity building of relevant departments to ensure cybersecurity in the country.
READ MORE: NADRA’s biometric data has been hacked, reveals FIA
Tariq Pervez, additional director of FIA’s Cybercrime Wing, told the meeting that NADRA’s data has been compromised and hacked. He said that 89,000 complaints have been received but they did not have the sufficient staff to address the complaints reported on a daily basis.
However, the official soon changed his statement, saying that NADRA’s data had not been hacked, but its biometric system had been compromised and used during the SIM verification process.
The FIA also clarified the matter saying that it is clarified that no such statement was given about hacking of data that has been misrepresented. FIA categorically denies the media report which is not based on facts, the agency said.
