Pakistani hackers attacked 1.5 million-plus Indian websites after Operation Sindoor: Failure rate, names of 7 Pakistani hacker groups; techniques used and more

Maharashtra Cyber has identified seven Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups responsible for launching over 15 lakh cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure websites across India following the Pahalgam terror strike. Of these, only 150 attacks were successful, officials said. This means a failure rate of 99.99% or should one say abysmal success rate of 0.01%.

In a report titled "Road of Sindoor", prepared under the military operation launched by the Indian armed forces under the same name against terrorists, the state's nodal cyber agency has detailed the cyber warfare launched by Pakistan-allied hacking groups. The report has been submitted to all key law enforcement agencies, including the Director General of Police and the State Intelligence Department.

According to the report, these cyber attacks originated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Middle East, and an Indonesian group, said Yashasvi Yadav, Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber.

India-Pakistan Ceasefires has not stopped Pakistani hacking attacks
Even after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military hostilities, Indian government websites are facing a barrage of cyber attacks from the neighbouring country as well as from Bangladesh and the Middle Eastern region, they said.

"The probe discovered that cyber attacks on (government websites in) India decreased after India-Pakistan ceased hostilities, but not fully stopped. These attacks continue from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco, and Middle Eastern countries," he said.

Pakistani hackers bringing down websites of major airports in India, Election Commission and ...
Addressing reporters, a senior official of Maharashtra Cyber debunked claims of hackers stealing data from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, hacking aviation and municipal systems, and targeting the Election Commission website.

Techniques used by Pakistani hackers
The methods used included malware campaigns, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, and GPS spoofing. The defacement of Indian websites was also reported. He said many such attacks were thwarted, and critical infrastructure of India was saved.

The report also highlights a hybrid warfare strategy by Pakistan-allied groups that includes widespread misinformation campaigns. These groups falsely claimed to have hacked India's banking system and caused power outages. These false narratives included claims of cyber attacks on India's power grid, statewide blackouts, satellite jamming, disruption of the Northern Command, and an alleged attack on a BrahMos missile storage facility, Yadav said.

Maharashtra Cyber identified and removed over 5,000 instances of misinformation and fake news related to India-Pakistan military conflicts that were circulating on social media.

7 Pakistani Hacker groups
The seven hacking groups identified in the report are APT 36 (Pakistan-based), Pakistan Cyber Force, Team Insane PK, Mysterious Bangladesh, Indo Hacks Sec, Cyber Group HOAX 1337, and National Cyber Crew (Pakistan-allied). These groups collectively launched approximately 1.5 million targeted cyber attacks on Indian infrastructure, Yadav said.

The Indian websites Pakistani hackers brought down
Among the 150 successful attacks, the Kulgaon Badlapur Municipal Council website was defaced.The attackers also claimed to have stolen data from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), as well as from telecom companies, with some of the data allegedly appearing on the darknet. Additionally, the website of the Defence Nursing College in Jalandhar was defaced.