ISLAMABAD – The Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) property and water billing system has reportedly been hacked, with hackers demanding ransom in bitcoins.
Reports said the hackers had threatened to leak all data on the dark web if ransom is not paid.
The cyberattack has disrupted the CDA’s online billing operations for the past three days, affecting payments related to property tax, conservancy charges, and water bills.
Officials said the official website of CDA is operational but the section related to billing and payments has been suspended following the incident.
An official has confirmed that that the hacking incident occurred during June. The disruption has also brought difficulty to citizens trying to make payments online.
Officials from the CDA revenue directorate, the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), and the authority’s IT department are jointly working to restore the system and recover affected data.
Reports also emerged suggesting that no backup data had been maintained for the past six months; however, CDA spokesperson Shahid Kiani rejected this claim.
He confirmed that the billing system had indeed been targeted in a cyberattack but stated that all backup records remain secure.
