As military tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) intensify, Indian cyber defenses have successfully repelled multiple attempted cyberattacks traced to Pakistani hacker groups, according to India’s Cyber Security Agency (CERT-In) and sources in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The foiled attacks, reported by ANI and discussed widely on X, targeted critical Indian infrastructure, including government websites, defense networks, and financial systems, in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
CERT-In revealed that the cyberattacks, launched over the past 48 hours, bore the signatures of known Pakistani hacking collectives, including those allegedly linked to state actors. The attacks aimed to disrupt services, steal sensitive data, and spread disinformation, with specific attempts to breach the Indian Army’s internal communication systems and the Ministry of External Affairs’ public-facing portals. However, India’s multi-layered cyber defenses, bolstered by advanced firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and real-time threat monitoring, neutralized the threats without any reported breaches.
“The attempts were sophisticated but ineffective against our robust safeguards,” a CERT-In official told NDTV, crediting recent upgrades to India’s cybersecurity framework under the National Cyber Security Policy. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team worked in tandem with private sector partners to trace the attacks to IP addresses in Pakistan, though no official attribution has been made public to avoid further escalation.
The cyber skirmishes come amid heightened hostilities following the Pahalgam attack, attributed to Pakistan-based The Resistance Front (TRF). India has responded with punitive measures, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari-Wagah border, and considering airspace and maritime bans on Pakistan. Pakistan’s five consecutive nights of LoC ceasefire violations, met with Indian retaliation, have further inflamed the situation, with both nations trading accusations of terrorism and aggression.
Posts on X highlight the cyber dimension of the conflict, with Indian users praising the country’s digital resilience and Pakistani accounts claiming the attacks were “retaliatory” against India’s “propaganda.” Some unverified reports suggest Pakistani hackers targeted Indian media outlets to amplify narratives questioning India’s claims about the Pahalgam attack, but these efforts were swiftly countered by Indian cyber teams.
India’s cybersecurity apparatus has been on high alert since the escalation began, with the government issuing advisories to bolster defenses across critical sectors like power grids, railways, and banking. The National Security Council, chaired by Ajit Doval, reportedly reviewed cyber preparedness, emphasizing the need to counter hybrid warfare tactics.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has not commented on the alleged cyberattacks, but its Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s recent claim of an “imminent” Indian military incursion has kept tensions at a boiling point. International cybersecurity firms, including Palo Alto Networks, have noted a surge in state-sponsored hacking attempts in the region, urging both nations to de-escalate.
As India strengthens its digital and military fortifications, the failed cyberattacks underscore the expanding battleground of India-Pakistan rivalry. With diplomacy faltering and the LoC ablaze, the cyber domain remains a critical front in this volatile standoff.
