ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has issued a cybersecurity advisory to ministries and provincial governments to prevent data leaks on the dark web, local media reported on Friday, months after audio recordings of former and current Pakistani prime ministers surfaced online. 

The audio recordings of PM Shehbaz Sharif, former premier Imran Khan and others last year created a political storm in the South Asian country. The leaks allegedly involved discussions between Sharif and members of his cabinet as well as conversations with ruling party leader Maryam Nawaz over the performance of outgoing finance minister Miftah Ismail.  

In a couple of recordings purportedly featuring Khan, the ex-premier could be heard discussing a diplomatic cipher with top aides, which has been at the center of his claims that he was ousted from power as part of a Washington-backed “foreign conspiracy.” 

The advisory, titled Leakage of Sensitive Data on Dark Web (Advisory No 53), said the anonymity offered by the dark web made it a “gateway to the world of crime” that constituted 96 percent of total data available on the internet, Pakistan's Dawn news website reported. 

“Dark/deep web is being used by nefarious mindsets, including criminals, terrorists, Hostile Intelligence Agencies (HIAs) and non-state actors,” the report quoted from the government advisory. 

“Users are advised to put in efforts to protect personal and official data from being exposed to cybercriminals and further leakage on hacking forums/dark web.”  

The dark web, or darknet, is part of the internet that is only accessible by means of special software and allows users to remain anonymous and untraceable, mainly paying in cryptocurrencies. 

To ensure data safety, the government advised officials to stay away from exploring dark web sources, remain vigilant while surfing the internet, not to open links or pictures shared by unknown sources, and apply two-factor authentication on all email, social media and banking accounts among several other guidelines.