The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has rescued a 13-year-old girl in Karachi from an online network that officials suspect has links to the dark web. Officials said the group gave her dangerous tasks. The first was to poison a cat, which died, and the second was to seriously harm herself. Investigators reached her before she could act on the second instruction.
How investigators traced the girl
An international agency passed intelligence to Pakistani authorities about suspicious online activity, along with internet protocol (IP) addresses tied to the network. Officials said those addresses were being used in 13 countries, Pakistan among them. The NCCIA's Karachi team focused on the Pakistani address to find out who was using it.
That search showed the user was a victim rather than an operator. The line of inquiry then led investigators to the girl, and they stepped in before the second task could be carried out.
Parents and the wider probe
NCCIA officials said the girl's parents did not know about her involvement with the group until investigators contacted them. In questioning, the parents said they had noticed changes in her behaviour over the previous six months but had not linked those changes to her internet use. The agency has since explained to the family the nature of the contacts and the danger the teenager faced.
The investigation is now focused on tracing the accounts used to contact the girl and identifying the people running the network. Officials said they are also checking whether other children in Pakistan were approached in similar ways. The agency has not disclosed who the suspected operators are or where they are, and no arrests have been announced.
About the dark web
The dark web is a layer of online content that sits out of view of ordinary search tools. Reaching it usually requires special software, such as the Tor browser, which conceals a user's identity and activity. The same privacy has legitimate uses, including private communication and getting around censorship, but it is also linked to drug trafficking, weapons sales and cybercrime. Using it is lawful in most nations, though carrying out crime through it is not, and users can also be exposed to scams and malicious software.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Karachi ki ek 13 saal ki bachi ko NCCIA ne ek online group se bacha liya hai, jo usay khatarnaak kaam de raha tha. Pehla kaam billi ko zehar dena bataya gaya hai, aur doosra khud ko shadeed nuqsan pohanchana. Tehqiqat jaari hai aur abhi kisi ki giraftari ka elaan nahi hua. Walidain ke liye yeh yaad dahani hai ke bachon ki online sargarmiyon par nazar rakhna zaroori hai.
