After Pulwama Terrorist Attack, Pak Hackers Targeted Indian Govt Websites

Over 90 Indian government websites and critical systems were attacked by Pakistani hackers within hours of the Pulwama suicide strike in which 40 soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were martyred, senior officials in the security establishment have revealed.

“There was an unusual surge of activity, attempts to breach systems,” Hindustan Times quoted one of these officials as saying Monday.

India had to resort to “offensive measures” in the cyber domain to counter the ferocious attacks, according to another source from the establishment.­­­­­­

Financial systems and power grid management ones were specially targeted but hackers were unable to breach firewalls and protective measures of critical systems, the official added.

The location of the Pakistani attacks was traced to Bangladesh.  After a failed hacking attempt, Pakistan resorted to strike fake news on social media sites, interfering in the information flow to create chaos and confusion, the report stated further.

The Indian government has advised all the departments to adhere to the “Standard Operating Procedures” and be vigilant against future intrusions.

An Indian hacker group called “Team I Crew” also hacked 200 Pakistani websites and shared the list on various social media platforms after the Pulwama terrorist attack, according to a Times Now report.

A Pakistani newspaper Dawn claimed that the websites of Pak’s Foreign Ministry and Army were also attacked. Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal had said complaints were received about the site being inaccessible by users from several countries.