Punjab Public Service Commission is Exposing Sensitive Data of Candidates [CNIC, Contact Details, Pictures and more]: ProPakistani

Punjab Public Service Commission is Exposing Sensitive Data of Candidates [CNIC, Contact Details, Pictures and more]
Samsung Upgrades its App Store on 2nd Anniversary
Supreme Court Website Gets Hacked

Punjab Public Service Commission is Exposing Sensitive Data of Candidates [CNIC, Contact Details, Pictures and more]

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 04:15 AM PDT

Like we pointed out earlier about FBR's website that was exposing sensitive user data of taxpayers (they later rectified the flaw after we pointed out), this time it's Punjab Public Service Commission – and situation has only worsen.

Punjab Public Service Commission or PPSC has just opened the doors for everyone to find every nitty-gritty details of hundreds of thousands of candidates applying for recently advertised lectureship jobs.

Anyone can freely access following details of all the candidates that applied for lectureship jobs:

Candidate's picture
Full Name
Father's Name
Complete Address
Mobile/Landline Number
Email Address
Age
Academic Record
Earlier Jobs, Experiences,
and much more

Just to tell you a little background, PPSC recently announced more that 2000 male and female jobs of lectureship in Punjab Education Department. This time they set it compulsory for the candidates to apply online.

Although this was to facilitate the candidates but whole data of candidates was published online and anyone can access it without any password or authentication.

By the way there are hundreds of thousands of candidates who applied (imagine there were 2000 job posts) and all their private data is exposed to everyone. Situation is alarming particularly in case of females, who are estimated to share 50 percent total count.

We aren't publishing the loophole that can reveal the user data (keeping in view that this may expose hundreds of thousands of individuals), but Punjab Public Service Commission must act immediately to undo it's heinous blunder.

Adopting latest technologies is good but these government institutes should secure the private details by passwords or by any other means of authorization.

Just have a look at following screenshot that we took, and no password or username whatsoever was required to access this female candidate's data, even worse, list of all the candidates that applied is available online, probably the worst privacy nightmare for any organization.

Thanks to Usman for tipping

Samsung Upgrades its App Store on 2nd Anniversary

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 04:12 AM PDT

Samsung today introduced a new version of its application store, Samsung Apps. The new version will be made available initially to Samsung Wave smartphones running on the new bada 2.0 OS, and rolled out globally on Samsung Galaxy devices towards the end of the year.

The new version of Samsung Apps features an improved user interface, updated purchasing options and a personalized App recommendation service. Samsung is also celebrating Samsung App's second birthday by offering 30 popular paid applications, for free, to Wave smartphone users. The offer includes famous titles such as Fruit Ninja and Plants vs. Zombies.

Already featuring over 40,000 applications, the new version of Samsung Apps incorporates several new features that improve the app store's all-round experience to millions of users across 121 countries. It is made available on Galaxy devices in March 2011.

The overall layout and user interface has been updated and optimized, featuring new elements like; "Smart" and "My Page" along with an integrated billing interface, and some new Purchasing-Options like; "Try'n Play" and "Rent'n Play", that enable access to new applications on a trial basis without paying the app's full price.

The App Recommendation Service, named "Smart" recommends apps based on current usage trends and interests, whereby the user simply needs to tap 'Smart' to access the offer. The brand-new "Wish List" allows users to collect a list of apps through buying or download apps.

The new "Samsung Apps" offers a new seller page and a promoted App tab, to provide new benefits to application developers and publishers, allowing more space for developers and publishers to promote their applications. This enables a direct communication channel between developers and end-customers.

Samsung Pakistan's Managing Director; Mr. Hee Chang Yee said; "This new and improved version of Samsung Apps provides greater usability and convenience while also enabling a more personalized service for each of our users. We will continue to enhance our application and content services, developing even more innovative features and ensuring an advanced, more enjoyable version of mobile experience."

Supreme Court Website Gets Hacked

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 10:49 PM PDT

Read this post in Urdu

A hacking group named Pak Bugs earlier today hacked into Supreme Court of Pakistan's website with an ID of "zombie_ksa".

The hackers, who are apparently from Pakistan, demanded ban on objectionable sites in Pakistan. The hackers threatened to hack the site of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), if their demand was not fulfilled.

It merits mentioning here that a kid of 9th grade had earlier written to PTA, ministry of information technology and to CJ of Pakistan to ban objectionable websites in Pakistan.

The hackers, leaving a message on the hacked page, criticized the lavish lifestyle adopted by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry. The message further underlined for him to realize the state of people starving of hunger. The hackers urged him to pay heed to such poverty-stricken people.

Reportedly, Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken notice of the incident. They have removed the hacked page while a probe has been initiated to find out the culprits.

To read more, click: Supreme Court Website Gets Hacked
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