4 min read
With Pakistan getting increasingly digitized, we have seen everything getting a virtual presence: where everything from paying utility bills to applying for government jobs happens online now. In this new bubble of online eutopia, a single Reddit thread has managed to remind everyone that convenience and security does not always share the same Wi-Fi password.
A post on the subreddit r/PakistaniTech emerged titled “NJP Data Leak How Serious This Would Be?” The post pointed to reports of a potential breach in the National Jobs Portal (NJP), the government-run platform managed by the National Information Technology Board (NITB) since 2019.
NJP requires applicants to upload highly sensitive documents: CNIC scans, detailed resumes, educational certificates, phone numbers, emails, and home addresses. If compromised, it’s essentially a neatly packaged dossier for anyone with malicious intent.
The thread quickly gained traction and comments in a relatively short time, turning into a collective venting session about data security, government competence, and the grim humor of having one’s entire professional life floating around the darker corners of the internet.
The Original Post: Polite Panic in Text Form
The full post, reproduced verbatim, captures that uniquely Pakistani blend of alarm and understatement:
I just noticed a new data leak reported by my VPN app, althought previous data leaks reported for Swvl, Dubsmash, and Deezer are quite old they did not matter much but this one looks fresh from 2025 and has more information, like CNIC and recent password that I need to change on other apps now.
Do I need to contact relevant department?
Ironically, NJP had already been on government’s list of precautions. As reported by Business Recorder, National Information Technology Board (NITB) had announced back in May 2025 that the National Job Portal (NJP) will remain on read-only-mode. All real time interactions were temporally suspended due to prevailing cyber security threats.
Pakistan National Computer Emergency Response Team (PKCERT) had also instructed all ministries and their attached departments to implement the following cybersecurity measures immediately to secure their official social media accounts.
However, if there was ever a data breach as reported by the Reddit post, the authorities have been little vocal on it if anything.
The real question here is that turning a portal read-only saved further data from getting in the hands of nefarious agents, or was it a poor attempt at damage control?
Key Comments: The Community Weighs In
The comment section became a masterclass in controlled outrage. Here are some of the standout responses, quoted verbatim, that collectively argue, quite persuasively, that this is, in fact, very serious:
Comment
byu/asjadrex from discussion
inPakistaniTech
Comment
byu/asjadrex from discussion
inPakistaniTech
On the inquiry of which VPN decoded the data breach, the poster said:
Comment
byu/asjadrex from discussion
inPakistaniTech
The Bigger Picture: It’s Not Just NJP
Pakistan has, unfortunately, built up quite the résumé in the field of data breaches. Just last year, a massive international leak exposed login credentials for over 180 million accounts linked to Pakistani users, including government portals, banks, and healthcare systems.
A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) confirmed that personal details of 2.7 million citizens were illicitly extracted from NADRA databases over several years. Data reportedly surfaced internationally (e.g., Argentina, Romania), meanwhile, NADRA undertook compliance actions following a 2024 probe.
These are just some of the massive data breaches the tech-nascent nation had to endure over the last decade. Experts and advocacy groups frequently point to structural issues: legacy systems with minimal encryption, insufficient staff training, absence of mandatory breach disclosure requirements, and a Personal Data Protection Bill that has been “in the works” since 2023 without crossing the finish line. The result is a regulatory environment that is still grappling with data security in the worst ways imaginable.
The NJP thread is less a scandal and more a recurring episode in a long-running security issues. Each season brings higher stakes, better special effects (unfortunately provided by cybercriminals), and the same unresolved cliffhanger: Will meaningful reforms finally arrive before the next breach?
