FIA foils attempts to hack its website

Published February 15, 2009

ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: The Federal Investigation Agency, which has been asked to look into Indian allegations about the involvement of Pakistanis in the Mumbai terror attacks, has foiled multiple attempts to hack its website and computer networks within minutes of the interior ministry’s disclosure of its preliminary findings.

The multiple hacking attempts occurred on Thursday — the day the prime minister’s adviser on interior Rehman Malik held a press conference on the subject.

Sources told Dawn News that the FIA managed to restore its website within 15 minutes after it was hacked by unidentified people.

Since Thursday, the FIA’s cyber crime wing has recorded multiple attempts by the unnamed hackers to infiltrate the agency’s networks hosting sensitive information.

The agency high-ups are said to have been taken aback by the hackers’ prompt action.

Sources claim that the investigators had managed to locate the origin of the attack, adding that the attempted hacking operation was launched beyond Pakistan’s borders.

It is also believed that a number of such attempts were motivated by curiosity to find out the list of questions forwarded by Islamabad to Indian authorities for further information into the Mumbai saga.

Investigators are trying to ascertain if the attempted hacking was an isolated act or something more complex, following various bids to hack into its databases.

The FIA officials said the agency was vigilant in view of threats from internal and external factors, adding that it had adequate measures in place to foil and track down any hacking attempts.

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