Beware Govt officials – Cabinet Division Warns Against Hackers Using Fake SMS/Call

The malicious phishing attacks on Pakistani government officials have been rising in the recent past. In this regard, a new warning has been issued by the Cabinet Division for government organizations and officials. According to the cabinet division’s advisory, some wicked intelligence agencies are involved in phishing attempts against senior governmental officials through spoofing SMS. The hacking groups are using these fake messages to steal user data.

How the phishing attacks are Carried out against Govt officials?

The hackers send a spoofing SMS from an unknown number and ask the governmental officials to call back. If they do call back, a phishing attack is launched, and unauthorized access to the user’s device is gained. The hackers can also give a miss call from a known number on the target’s mobile to carry out the attack. The hackers use this hacking technique to force the target into opening an SMS containing hacking links. If the target clicks on these links, their device will be hacked and their sensitive information will be stolen.

As per the advisory, mobile numbers of military forces officials are being exploited by hostile intelligence agencies to send fake SMS and WhatsApp messages to targets.

Hackers are able to generate fake numbers via different websites and apps. In majority of the cases, a missed call or sharing of a well-crafted message is utilized to trick the targets to share their sensitive information or tap on malicious links.

Furthermore, the cabinet division advised the government officials not to receive or dial back to calls from unknown numbers and also not respond to any unidentified messages. It has advised government officials to enable two-factor authentication for WhatsApp and other related platforms.

Also read:

Reddit Hackers Demand $4.5 million and API Pricing Changes

Govt Warns Against Russia-backed APT Hackers Activities in Pakistan