The Curious Case of PM’s Leaked Audios
OVER 100 HOURS OF TAPES UP FOR SALE ON DARK WEB
Leaked audio tapes purported to be conversations of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif with his administration staff have found their way to the dark web and auction. The price tag is 180 in bitcoins , equivalent to US $ 3.5million.
Media reports are rife with the news accusing intelligence agencies of irresponsible conduct and failure. Meanwhile, government sources are playing the news down as routine instances. Such a carefree and ‘it happens’ stance from government functionaries is drawing sharp criticism from the opposition, press and general public. Expressing shock and dismay at the gross negligence, some opposition leaders said that it is unbecoming of a nuclear armed state.
In one of the audio clips, Maryam Nawaz, the niece of PM free on bail, is clearly heard asking her premier uncle to facilitate her son-in-law’s machinery import from India.
Some analysts insist that it is an insider’s job rather than that of a hacker. And it has been timed to influence the decisions pertaining to appointments for key positions in the army and other administrative cadres.
The opposition leader and former premier, Imran Khan, has said that the present government can go to any length for personal gains. Although all trade was ceased in the previous government because of India’s hegemonic designs in occupied Kashmir, the present regime and its self-serving policies are doing a disservice to Kashmir’s cause.
The entire country including analysts, media people and politicians are keeping a watch as the story unfolds. The cyber professionals are also keen to learn if there is some substance of their interest.
A large number of analysts believe that a spyware might have been responsible for the chain of events that led to audio tapes reaching the dark web.
A single text message is all that hackers need to install a spyware which can bypass security and grant complete access to devices.
The spyware provides access to messages, photos, videos and emails. It can turn the microphone on. And it can turn it on even when the mobile is not in use and no one is calling. Without the owner’s knowledge, it can record all conversations. Much worse, it can even turn the camera on and can record whatever is displayed on the screen. The GPS system is also in its access which means anyone can trace another’s movements through the spyware. All this can be done without anyone knowing of it.
This spyware technology is known as Pegasus. It is the latest and probably the most sophisticated spyware technology. It is the most evasive forms of surveillance. If anyone thinks that since he is using Whatsapp, he is safe then he is wrong. Once Pegasus finds a way into a device, everything then is meaningless. Nothing is safe. And the spyware dictates everything.
Pegasus is the main product of an Israeli surveillance company called the NSO group.
DG INVESTIGATION : Our analysts who were assigned to delve deeper into the affair suspect that entire recordings were done through Pegasus which was surreptitiously installed in the devices. Only then could hours of audio recordings could be made and hundreds of megabyte data were floated on the dark web inviting bids in excess of 180 bitcoins, equivalent to $3.5m.
This is the only plausible explanation for the incident. The conjecture that the Prime Minister’s secretariat was bugged and audio recordings were made secretly in the old-fashioned way is a remote possibility.
DG ADVICE : Government functionaries, especially those who occupy key administrative posts after going through the electoral process are generally unaware of new technology. They should undergo training sessions and they should participate in workshops to acquire at least a rudimentary knowledge of cyber security protocols. If they do not comply with precautionary principles, then such incidents will continue to happen and embarrassments must be faced at all diplomatic levels.
NEWS UPDATE September 24th 2022:
Pakistani administration seems to be clueless about the recent audio leaks. Only days after the PM’s conversations were leaked, some more audios were released implicating former PM, Imran Khan, and his confidantes. In any case, there is no word about how it all happened and who did this.
Researches conducted by DG Cyber SME have revealed that the audios were those from microphone of a compromised mobile phone. It is easy to surmise that either the hackers infiltrated a device in close proximity to the PM and his lodgings and then recorded the conversations, or else someone recorded the conversations on his or her device and the hacker broke into that device to steal the audio files.
DG Cyber SME analyzed the audio files and learnt that in all probability, they came from the microphone of a mobile phone. For a short while, they even tried to establish contact with the person who was attempting to sell the files on the dark net.
Earlier, Fawad Chaudhry of the opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf party hinted at a Twitter thread originating from an unidentified user. The user tweeted:
OSINT Insider @ OSINT_Insider
Sep 24
User asked people to bid in order to get access to this leak—with minimum bid being 18 OBTC (around $345,000)
He also said that highest bidder will get the samples audios of this leak before making the payment.
Salaam, Whatever is happening is not healthy from perspective of Pakistan’s image to the world and internal to the country.
That’s true, the whole incident is showing bad image of Pakistan, politics, cybersecurity incompetence, continues cybersecurity breaches, still hacker is enjoying his hunt and Pakistan government and agencies failing to catch him.