Hackers from Pakistan Target Government Agencies as India Prepares for the G20 Summit

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The start of this cyberattack was authorized on September 7, 2023, when the hacktivist collective Team Herox posted a message on Telegram. The group continued its disruptive effort at 3:33 PM (IST) by attacking the Mumbai Police’s internet portal.

CloudSEK’s AI Digital Risk Platform, XVigil

Prior to the G20 Summit in New Delhi, a group of hackers from Pakistan and Indonesia were preparing to assault India online. The study from XVigil claims that the government’s electronic infrastructure is their main goal.

The research also emphasizes that these hacktivist groups have long-planned cyberattacks against both public and private enterprises in India, indicating that their intention to target Indian government entities is not a recent trend. Their strategies include data breaches, hacked account takeovers, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

The start of this cyberattack was authorized on September 7, 2023, when the hacktivist collective Team Herox posted a message on Telegram. They requested working together with other hacktivist groups to carry out a series of strikes planned on September 9 and 10, 2023, in accordance with the timetable of the G20 summit.

FalconFeedsio, a threat intelligence platform for cyber security, “X.”

The prominent hacker collective “Team Insane PK” claims credit for organizing a DDoS attack that brought down the Delhi Police portal (delhipolice.gov.in) on September 8, 2023, at around 3:11 PM (IST).

Since February 2, 2023, the religious hacktivist collective “Team Insane PK” has been actively assaulting Indians online. The gang mostly conducts defacement and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

However, when Times Now contacted Delhi Police about this issue, they claimed the website was operational but provided no further details regarding the anticipated cyberattack.

After that, at roughly 3:33 PM (IST), the group continued their disruptive campaign by attacking the Mumbai Police’s website (mumbaipolice.gov.in).

This coordinated assault, known as “#Op India,” is driven by a complicated interplay of political considerations, with a number of the attacks being interpreted as reprisals in the ongoing international hacktivist fight. Attacks using DDoS and mass defacement are the two main attack strategies planned for this campaign.

Significantly, researchers from CloudSEK have illuminated a related alarming discovery from a recent hacktivist campaign that targeted over 1,000 Indian websites as part of their August 15 Independence Day campaign.

This operation, which hacktivist groups from several nations organized, used strategies like DDoS attacks, defacement attacks, and user account takeovers, matching the trends already mentioned in CloudSEK’s study on hacktivist warfare. During the first quarter of 2023, hacktivist attacks significantly increased, with India becoming as their main target, according to the research.

Darshit Ashara, Head of Security Research & Threat Intelligence, CloudSEK

“Hacktivist groups have dramatically increased their cyberattacks in recent months, with India becoming their main target. These hacktivists frequently use major political gatherings like the G20 Summit as opportunities to acquire awareness, making the government’s digital infrastructure one of their main targets.

A clear reminder of the cyber threats that countries confront is provided by the concerted efforts of hacktivist organizations from Pakistan and Indonesia to target India’s G20 Summit with planned cyberattacks. Our goal is to protect against these changing hazards and enable both individuals and companies to strengthen their digital defenses.”

About The Author

Suraj Koli is a content specialist with expertise in Cybersecurity and B2B Domains. He has provided his skills for News4Hackers Blog and Craw Security. Moreover, he has written content for various sectors Business, Law, Food & Beverage, Entertainment, and many others. Koli established his center of the field in a very amazing scenario. Simply said, he started his career selling products, where he enhanced his skills in understanding the product and the point of view of clients from the customer’s perspective, which simplified his journey in the long run. It makes him an interesting personality among other writers. Currently, he is a regular writer at Craw Security.