Ordinary Hackers Responsible For Audio Leaks of Judges & others – ISI

In the past few months, numerous audio leaks involving politicians, judges, and their relatives have surfaced. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) took notice of the matter and asked relevant authorities to find out the individual(s) involved in it. In response, Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), informed IHC that ‘ordinary individuals or hackers’ might be responsible for the audio leaks. In its written response submitted through the Ministry of Defense, ISI made a startling revelation regarding the availability of inexpensive tools that offer the capability of audio recording from mobile phones.

In its written response, ISI also highlighted groups offering paid services to secretly obtain data from devices through different methods. It further said that “callers can also record each other’s conversations or calls on speakers, and afterward it may be leaked or hacked.”

Moreover, ISI informed the IHC about the AI tools that can be leveraged to alter the voice and content of any conversation. “These tools can be used to mimic someone,” it stated. The agency said that it doesn’t have adequate resources to trace the source of the audio leaks, mentioning ‘encryption’ as a significant obstacle.

“Being encrypted traffic, technically it is not possible to ascertain the source; only SM [social media] platforms can provide information,” the IHC was informed.

In addition, the Spy Agency suggests that the FIA’s cybercrimes wing should start further action. It underlined Section 35 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which ‘has the powers to have access to or demand any information in readable and comprehensive format or plain version from service providers.’

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