According to a detailed report by The Hindu Business Line, among the compromised platforms are the websites of the Indian Military Engineering Services and the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). The publication, citing sources within the Indian Army, stated that the attackers may have gained access to sensitive and potentially classified data.
Reacting swiftly to the breach, the Indian Army said it had implemented “appropriate and necessary measures” to bolster digital defences and thwart further intrusion attempts.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Times reported that a Pakistan-based hacking group known as the “Pakistan Cyber Force” has claimed responsibility for the cyberattacks. The group allegedly used its account on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to announce the breach and boasted about obtaining classified login credentials and personal data of Indian defence personnel.
In a further twist, Mint reported that the same X account claimed to have exfiltrated 10 gigabytes of data from the MP-IDSA website, affecting over 1,600 users. However, unnamed senior management officials at the institute have contested these claims, stating their website was not compromised.
Adding to the list of affected entities, the official website of Armoured Vehicle Nigam Limited (AVNL) — a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence — was also targeted. The hackers allegedly tried to deface the site with the Pakistan flag and images of the Al Khalid tank, a Pakistani battle tank. As a precaution, the website has since been taken offline for a comprehensive forensic audit to determine the scale and depth of the intrusion.
This cyberattack comes on the heels of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. Authorities believe the latest cyber offensive is part of a broader campaign of hybrid warfare. Previous unsuccessful attempts were also made to infiltrate Indian platforms linked to children’s education, veteran welfare, and social services.
Two hacker collectives, known as “Cyber Group HOAX1337” and “National Cyber Crew”, were reportedly behind earlier efforts to deface the websites of Army Public Schools in Nagrota and Sunjuwan. These attacks aimed to spread provocative content mocking the victims of the Pahalgam incident.
While the exact extent of the breach has not been officially confirmed by Indian authorities, cybersecurity experts are urging the defence establishment to adopt more robust cyber resilience frameworks and enhanced real-time threat monitoring systems to counter the rising frequency of such cross-border digital incursions.
As tensions persist both on the ground and in cyberspace, the need for a coordinated national cybersecurity strategy has never been more critical.
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