A recent report by Hindustan Times stated that hackers from Pakistan attacked over 90 websites of the Indian Government. The recent escalations in tensions between the neighbors led to a surge in attacks in cyberspace, targeting key infrastructures.
The death of 40 CRPF personnel in a recent terror strike by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad led to India retaliating with airstrikes on terrorist launch pads in Balakot, Pakistan. The attack is said to have wiped out a few hundred terrorists including leader Masood Azhar’s brother in law, Yousuf Azhar.
As reported on the 18th of Feb, Indian hacktivists had retaliated in cyberspace by hacking over 200 websites of the Pakistan Government, some of which are still not accessible from outside Pakistan.
This surge in attacks that attempted to breach key systems was thwarted by an unknown agency. India had to resort to offensive measures to counter the attempts of hackers and ensure the security of its network.
Officials stated that no firewalls had been breached owing to the timely response to attacks and various precautionary measures that had been taken to protect key systems including the power grid and other financial apparatus.
Surprisingly, the attacks were routed from Bangladesh, a country with good ties with India. The coordinated nature of the attacks targeted at crippling the nations vital infrastructure left no doubts regarding its nature.
The Indian Government advised all departments to strictly conform with “Standard Operating Procedures” in light of the attacks. The agency behind the Indian offensive and the nature of the operation have not yet been disclosed.
Once the attempts by the hackers were foiled, they resorted to controlling “information flow” in order to cause mass confusion and chaos. This included spreading fake news such as the sacking of a senior IAF official and huge casualties to Indian forces in Rajouri sector. Owing to the precautionary measures taken by India, these efforts achieved limited success.
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