Category: Technology

Million of WordPress accounts and websites were targeted in the last 24 hours as part of a major cyber attack with the aim of obtaining credentials and other sensitive data.
The hackers behind the attack were trying to download a specific file called wp-config.php from WordPress websites since they contain crucial information such as database credentials, connection info, authentication unique keys, salts, and more.
They tried to exploit vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins and themes such as cross-site scripting (XSS). This was done to gain access to credentials and ultimately take over the websites completely. However, QA engineer and threat analyst Ram Gall explained in a blog post how the attackers failed to do so thanks to the Wordfence Firewall.
Between May 29 and May 31, 2020, the Wordfence Firewall blocked over 130 million attacks intended to harvest database credentials from 1.3 million sites by downloading their configuration files. The peak of this attack campaign occurre..

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The imposition of an additional tax of Rs. 500 per kg from Rs. 10 on tobacco buying is on the cards in federal budget 2020/21. The strong lobby of multinational tobacco companies backed up by the decision-makers within FBR likely to bring the end to the local tobacco manufacturers and growers.
As it has been highlighted many times in the media that tobacco multinationals hire ex- FBR employees in their company whose sole purpose is to have complete access to the FBR office during budget when no outsiders should be allowed to manipulate but the tobacco multinationals employees do.
In a recent press conference held at National Press Club, Islamabad, the representatives of various industry labor unions and farmers associations of KP requested the federal government not to impose such tax as they are already been exploited by the multinational companies on tobacco buying and mass retrenchments from factories.
Sources close to these developments revealed to this scribe that the multinati..

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The demand for laptops and tablet PCs has increased manifold in major cities due to the evolving trend of online education which is being adopted as an alternate way of regular classes by schools, universities, and educational institutions.
Talking to ProPakistani, industry players said the demand for reconditioned laptops and tablet PCs has increased up to 40-50 percent in the last few days with the commencement of online classes in various schools and universities.
A majority of the schools have announced starting off the academic session from June 15 whereas some schools, colleges, and universities have already begun their learning activities through various online platforms from June 1. Even, the Sindh Government officials gave green signals to schools for continuing online classes across the province.
Subsequently, the sales of laptops and tablet PCs have increased significantly however parents usually prefer reconditioned laptops over new ones due to their temporary use to mee..

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Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, chaired a strategy meeting to review progress on the Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative (PRMI) in Board of Investment on Friday.
Advisor to PM on Institutional Reforms, Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Chairman Board of Investment, Atif Riaz Bokhari, Secretary Commerce, Secretary BOI, and senior officers from BOI and FBR attended the meeting.
During the meeting, Chairman BOI shared the progress on different initiatives being undertaken under the umbrella of PRMI, including mapping various regulatory requirements, regulatory guillotine, and licensing small businesses at the local government level.
BOI further shared the developments on Pakistan Business Portal, a part of Pakistan Goes Global Project, which is an online portal that will allow all types of businesses to find relevant regulatory requirements, submit their application online and electronically pay the relevant fees.
Appreciating the efforts being und..

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Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Pakistan have signed an agreement to expand support for Pakistan’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF).
Secretary of Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Division Noor Ahmed and ADB’s Country Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang signed the agreement.
After the signing ceremony, ADB Country Director Xiaohong Yang met with Chargé d’affaires of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad Sigbjørn Tenfjord to discuss the project.
Under the agreement, the government of Norway will provide a $5.28 million grant to strengthen the emergency response system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province amid the COVID-19 crisis. The grant is drawn from the unused resources of the Pakistan Earthquake Fund and will be administered by ADB.
“The grant will help provide emergency response services, procure necessary equipment and supplies to poor communities in Khyber Pakhtunk..

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Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has asked international development partners and government agencies to continue evaluating the losses suffered by the Pakistani economy due to COVID-19 to help the government come up with a swift and robust policy.
The adviser was chairing a meeting to evaluate the economic losses suffered by Pakistan due to COVID-19. The meeting was also attended by Minister for Industries and Production Mr. Hammad Azhar, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood and senior officials of the Finance Division.
The adviser appreciated the excellent work done by the Planning Commission, the State Bank of Pakistan, and the development partners in assessing and evaluating the losses suffered by the economy. He said that the government had announced its Rs. 1.2 trillion stimulus package not only to help businesses but also the poorest segments of our population in alleviating their misery and suf..

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