N-CERT Urges Pakistanis to Change Passwords Following Major Data Breaches of Global Companies

In one of the largest recent global data breaches, sensitive information—including passwords—of over 180 million users from major companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple has been exposed. Following the incident, Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (N-CERT) issued an urgent alert to users and organizations nationwide.

The breach also affected data from government portals and popular social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. N-CERT warned that the stolen information, currently stored in an unsecured database, could be exploited by automated cyberattacks, putting millions at risk of identity theft, account hacking, and other cyber threats.

The advisory stressed that both individual users and government institutions, including those handling financial accounts, are vulnerable and must act immediately. Pakistani users are strongly advised to change their passwords promptly and activate two-step verification to improve account security.

“Passwords should never be shared via email or saved in unsecured files,” the advisory warned. It also recommended using reliable password managers to protect credentials and keeping antivirus and security software up to date.

N-CERT urged users to watch for unusual login activity and report any suspicious behaviour immediately. Government agencies and sensitive organizations have also been instructed to quickly identify and notify affected users.

The advisory warned that neglecting these precautions could threaten the national digital infrastructure and disrupt critical services due to these global data breaches.

Cybersecurity experts emphasized the need for increased vigilance as automated attacks targeting the compromised data may escalate in the coming days.

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