Hackers linked to Pakistan carried out 15 lakh cyber attacks on Indian websites; seven groups identified

Maharashtra Cyber Department informed that following the Pahalgam terror attack, over 15 lakh cyber attacks were launched on vital government and infrastructure-related websites of India. The attacks are the handiwork of seven Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups. Officials informed on Monday that out of all these attacks, only 150 were successful.

Maharashtra Cyber Additional Director General of Police Yashaswi Yadav has informed that these attacks had originated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Middle East and an Indonesian group. The attack methods used in all such attacks were malware campaigns, downing of websites (DDoS attacks) and GPS spoofing. Defacement of Indian websites was also noticed.

He said that despite the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Indian government websites are facing continuous cyber attacks from neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Asian regions. Speaking to reporters, a senior Maharashtra cyber department official rejected claims that hackers have stolen data from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport or hacked aviation and municipal body systems.

He said, investigation found that after the military conflict between India and Pakistan ended, cyber attacks on Indian government websites reduced, but did not stop completely. These attacks are continuing from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco and West Asian countries.

In a report titled 'Road of Sindoor', the state's nodal cyber agency has given details of the cyber campaign run by Pakistan-backed hacking groups. This report has been prepared as part of the military operation launched by the Indian armed forces against terrorists. The report has been submitted to all major law enforcement agencies, including the state's Director General of Police and Intelligence Department.

The report has named seven hacker groups including APT 36, Pakistan Cyber ​​Force, Team Insane PK, Mysterious Bangladesh. Some of the attacks defaced the websites of Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council and Jalandhar Defence Nursing College and claimed data theft of Mumbai airport, telecom companies. Apart from this, the hackers made false claims that India's power system, Brahmos missile bases and satellite systems were hacked. Maharashtra Cyber ​​has removed more than 5000 fake news and appealed to citizens not to trust rumours and take information only from official sources.