ISLAMABAD: A security firm says fake smartphone apps laden with malware are targeting Pakistan's military and government.
A report Wednesday by Canadian company Blackberry identifies new espionage campaigns attempting to steal sensitive data from mobile devices.
Blackberry says it doesn't know who is responsible for the campaigns but says it likely involves state-sponsored hacking groups.
The report says one of the fake apps promised news about Kashmir. India imposed a security lockdown in August on the India-administered region, detaining thousands and cutting off telecommunications for days.
Other fake apps mimicked a pornography website, a dating chat service and a disaster relief organization, the Ansar Foundation.
The apps often utilized Google's Android operating system and were distributed through email or on social media messaging services such as WhatsApp.
Blackberry, a former mobile phone giant now shifted to the security business, says the campaigns reflect a global trend of hackers targeting mobile devices because people use them for work and in their personal lives.
"I don't think we saw examples where they were targeting specific individuals," said the company's Brian Robison. "It was more of a broad stroke."
Blackberry's report also outlines ongoing smartphone malware campaigns in other parts of the world in which hackers appear to be acting in the interests of the Chinese, Iranian, Vietnamese and North Korean governments. One common thread among the different campaigns: they interwove mobile malware into more conventional strategies targeting desktop computers.
Robison said many people have been falsely lulled into thinking their phones are more trustworthy.
"We put a lot of trust in the public app stores to try to keep us safe," he said.
Smartphone malware targeting Pakistani officials
Smartphone malware targeting Pakistani officials
- Blackberry identifies new espionage campaigns attempting to steal sensitive data from mobile devices
- Report says one of the fake apps promised news about Kashmir
Pakistan cricket chief courts investors at UK roadshow as T20 league eyes expansion
- Mohsin Naqvi says the board is investing in infrastructure and high-performance training centers for players
- PSL features six teams and is expected to expand to eight, with its next edition scheduled for April and May
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday the board was investing in cricket infrastructure and high-performance training centers as he aimed to attract investors from the United Kingdom to buy Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams.
The remarks came during a PSL roadshow at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, which brought together investors, franchise representatives and league officials to showcase the league’s commitment to global expansion, strategic partnerships and world-class entertainment.
PSL is Pakistan’s premier T20 cricket league, featuring six city-based teams competing for the title each year. The tournament’s 11th edition is expected to take place in April and May next year.
PCB has announced plans to expand the league by adding two new franchises this year, increasing the total number of teams to eight. The board said in a statement earlier this year it had already received “significant interest” from potential ownership groups in the UK for the two new teams.
“So, I will tell one thing to the investors, that we are not spending only money on the infrastructure, but also on the high-performance centers,” Naqvi said while speaking to the participants.
He highlighted that the PCB had recently renovated the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore while the renovation of the National Stadium in Karachi was halfway done.
“We are building a new stadium in Islamabad ... [which will be] one of the best stadiums in Pakistan,” he added. “We are targeting Abbottabad. We are taking over Muzaffarabad stadium [in Azad Kashmir] also.”
The PSL roadshow aims to offer investors and cricket lovers an immersive introduction to the league, its commercial ecosystem and the strategic vision driving its next phase of growth.
Within a span of 10 years, PSL has competed for viewership with some of the most prominent cricket leagues around the world, including the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash League, the Hundred, and the Caribbean Premier League, among others.
