Latest news with #PendyalaKrishnaShastry
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First Post
14-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
While India downed Pak drones & missiles, China-backed 6-nation hacker army launched cyberattack
India came under cyberattack from hackers backed by Pakistan and led by China and other countries after military strikes under Operation Sindoor. Hackers targeted key sectors to steal sensitive defence data and disrupt critical infrastructure, report says. read more India faced not only heavy attacks on its western border from Pakistan after military strikes under Operation Sindoor on Islamabad-backed terror hubs but was also targeted in cyberspace, The Times of India reported, citing sources and experts. According to the report, state-backed hackers and hacktivists from Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with support from China, targeted Indian digital systems. The attacks focused on defence PSUs, their MSME vendors, and critical infrastructure such as ports, airports, power grids, Indian Railways, airlines, telecom companies like BSNL, fintech platforms like UPI, digital wallets, stock exchanges, and large Indian conglomerates involved in infrastructure. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The aim was to embarrass India and steal sensitive information about its defence systems, including missile data, sources said. According to Interpol trainer and cyber forensic expert Pendyala Krishna Shastry, these cyberattacks were part of a broader Pakistani campaign against Indian digital assets. The attackers used malware, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks to target key sectors such as finance, telecom, energy, and public services. Zone-H, a website that tracks website defacements, reported breaches of Indian government domains. The website of the National Institute of Water Sports ( was defaced, while another site, was also hacked but later restored. The Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) website faced a major glitch on Tuesday after a message appeared from a group calling itself 'Mr Habib 404 – Pakistani Cyber Force,' saying, 'You thought you were safe, but we are here.' However, officials avoided confirming whether it was a cyberattack from Pakistan, reports Sanjay Sahay. CCL's Public Relations Officer, Alok Gupta, said, 'The website has been restored and is functioning normally. There was no loss or tampering of company data. For now, we believe it was a technical issue and cannot confirm if it was a hack.'
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Operation Sindoor: As India hit Pakistan, 6 nations fired cyber missiles
A visual of a terrorist camp in Pakistan which was struck as part of 'Operation Sindoor' (MEA via youTube) HYDERABAD: It's not just the country's western border that took heavy enemy fire during Operation Sindoor . India was attacked in cyberspace, too, by state-backed hackers and hacktivists from Pakistan, Turkiye, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with backing from China, according to cybersecurity experts. Apart from defence PSUs and their MSME vendors, critical infrastructure like ports, airports, power grids, transportation services like Indian Railways and airlines, telecom players like BSNL, fintech platforms like UPI, digital wallets, stock exchanges, and major Indian conglomerates with investments in infrastructure too came under attack, sources said. The attempt was to both embarrass India and also extract sensitive information about its defence systems, including its missiles, they said. According to Interpol trainer and cyber forensic expert Pendyala Krishna Shastry, the attacks were part of a broader campaign waged by Pakistani actors against Indian digital assets. These groups reportedly deployed malware, conducted phishing attacks, and launched denial-of-service operations targeting critical sectors such as finance, telecom, energy, and public services. Zone-H, a website that tracks defacements, reported incidents involving Indian govt domains. The website of National Institute of Water Sports ( was claimed to have been defaced. Another, also experienced a breach, but was restored later. CCL website restored: The Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) website suffered a major technical glitch on Tuesday after a message appeared from one Mr Habib 404. Pakistani cyber force that said, "You thought you were safe, but we are here." Officials shied away from the Pakistan cyberattack angle, reports Sanjay Sahay. CCL's PRO Alok Gupta said, "The website has been restored and is functioning normally. There is no loss or distortion of company data. At present, we can only say that the problem was due to a technical glitch. We cannot conclude whether it was hacked or not."
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pak hackers step up multi-phase attacks in India
Hyderabad: A sharp escalation in cyber warfare between India and Pakistan unfolded since April, with multiple Indian websites defaced and strategic digital systems attacked in a series of coordinated operations attributed to Pakistan-based hacker groups, including APT36 and Team Insane to Interpol trainer and cyber forensic expert Pendyala Krishna Shastry, the attacks were part of a broader campaign of cyber and information warfare waged by Pakistani actors against Indian digital assets. These groups reportedly deployed malware, conducted phishing attacks, and launched denial-of-service operations targeting critical sectors such as finance, telecom, energy, and public a website that tracks defacements, reported incidents involving Indian govt domains. The website of National Institute of Water Sports ( was claimed to be defaced. Another, also experienced a breach, but was restored groups, Hacktivists lead multi-phase assaultThe offensive unfolded in five distinct phases. Initial attacks, which occured between April 23 and April 26, were low-scale defacements by religious hacktivist collectives, while between April 27 and May 2, denial-of-service attacks were launched against e-governance platforms. By May 6, high-skill actors initiated ransomware and data theft in manufacturing and oil and gas May 7 onwards, advanced persistent threat groups like APT36 focused on banking and payment systems, including National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). APT36, also known as Transparent Tribe, has been active since 2013, using remote access trojans such as Crimson RAT and Capra RAT to infiltrate Indian five, which began on May 13, includes attacks reportedly supported by state actors from China, Turkey, Iran, and North Korea. The Lazarus Group, SideWinder, MuddyWater, and APT28 have been named among key actors using zero-day exploits and supply chain vulnerabilities to target core assets. Shastry underlined the urgency of countering the digital offensive with better cyber hygiene, institutional readiness, and public awareness.
