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On Saturday, police authorities revealed that the Islamabad Safe City Authority’s online system was taken offline due to a hacking incident. According to officials familiar with the situation, the breach occurred two days prior, resulting in the system’s shutdown, as reported by Dawn.
On Thursday, hackers infiltrated the main server, gaining access to critical data, including criminal databases. In response, the servers managing the Complaint Management System, Criminal Management Record System, Human Resources Management System, and various operational software and applications were swiftly disabled.
Despite having a firewall designed to alert authorities of unauthorized access attempts, officials noted the absence of backup or alternative servers to maintain the software’s functionality, necessitating an immediate shutdown.
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Following the breach, the IT department disabled all logins to essential software and applications, which are crucial for accessing various servers and operational systems.
An officer highlighted that this breach was not a typical hacking event but was due to the exposure of login credentials. The compromised credentials resulted from officials using simple, easily guessable passwords. Additionally, the system’s software and applications were outdated, with expired licenses, further increasing its susceptibility.
The affected system encompasses a wide range of services, including mobile applications, records of smart police vehicles, data from police stations, video analytics, Islamabad Traffic Police operations, e-challan data, and criminal records.
Significantly, the Safe City camera management system operates on a separate network, ensuring its security. Being offline, it remains secure from unauthorized access without valid credentials.
Police spokesperson Taqi Jawad confirmed the hacking attempt and mentioned that the firewall immediately issued an alert, leading to the precautionary measure of disabling all logins. He stated that for security reasons, all logins have remained disabled for the past forty-eight hours to allow for credential updates, affecting access for many police personnel.