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 air chief meets Indonesian president, pushes training and defense cooperation
- PAF has been promoting combat-tested credentials after last year’s standoff with India
- Indonesian officials seek support in strengthening professional and flying training
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s air chief, Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, met Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta to discuss expanded cooperation in professional training and defense production, according to a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) statement issued on Friday.
The visit comes as Pakistan’s military highlights its operational experience and aerospace capabilities following a four-day conflict with India in May last year, in which Islamabad claimed victory after saying the PAF shot down at least six Indian fighter aircraft, including the French-made Rafale.
New Delhi acknowledged weeks later it had suffered some losses but did not specify a number.
“Upon his arrival, the Air Chief was received by the Indonesian President at the Presidential Complex in Jakarta,” the PAF said, adding that Sidhu “expressed his unwavering commitment to enhance the existing bilateral ties in Air Force-to-Air Force cooperation with Indonesia, especially in the fields of training, Air Defense and defense production.”
During the air chief’s meetings with Indonesian military officials, the two sides discussed joint training initiatives from basic to advanced levels, professional exchange programs and collaboration in aerospace domains, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber, space and unmanned systems.
Indonesia’s air chief expressed interest in drawing on the operational experience of PAF pilots and sought support in strengthening professional and flying training, the statement said.
Pakistan’s air force has promoted its JF-17 fighter jet since the conflict with India, pitching it as a combat-tested aircraft. The PAF has also highlighted its multi-domain capabilities and offered to train counterparts in other countries, citing lessons from recent operations.
The Indonesian leadership praised the PAF’s progress in aerospace research, design and technological development, according to the statement, and expressed interest in leveraging Pakistan’s training ecosystem and aerospace infrastructure.
At the conclusion of his meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Sidhu was awarded the Medal of Honour, the service’s highest military award, in recognition of efforts to strengthen bilateral air power collaboration.
