Pro-Palestine hackers target Indian websites, pro-India group retaliates
The Indian cyber infrastructure has effectively repelled attacks over the past 48 hours, the majority of which were "denial of service" operations.
According to sources, pro-Palestine activists have been launching cyberattacks on websites linked to the Indian government, including those of the Delhi government and AIIMS, accusing India of supporting Israel. This has sparked a blitz of retaliation.
The Indian cyber infrastructure has effectively repelled attacks over the past 48 hours, the majority of which were “denial of service” operations. Over 100 tiny websites are hacked everyday, according to a study done by Falconfeeds, an Indian threat intelligence firm. Most of these websites are run by modest non-profit organisations. These assaults started soon after India openly declared its support for Israel.
A Palestinian group known as “Ghosts of Palestine” even asked other hackers to target Israel and its supporters, including India, by inviting them to assault their infrastructure. According to their Telegram channel, several additional organisations have joined them, including one dubbed “Libyan Ghosts”.
India’s retaliation
Following Monday’s attempted intrusions into the websites of the Delhi government and AIIMS, cybergangs with claimed Indian ties intensified their attack on Palestinian institutions and targeted the Hamas website in addition to the portals of the Palestinian National Bank and the National Telecommunications Company. According to sources, the Hamas website was down for a “considerable” amount of time.
These individuals have also collaborated with pro-Israel organisations like ThreatSec, who are accused of compromising the AlfaNet ISP in Gaza.
The official websites of the Government of Punjab, NITI Aayog, Karnataka Bank, the Government of Haryana, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)’s website for income tax, and the Government of Tamil Nadu were among the government websites that were attacked.
These assaults were carried out by the hacker teams “TIGER_CYBER_TEAM,” “MOROCCAN_BLACK_CYBER_ARMY,” “ACEH_ABOUT_HACKED_WORLD,” “TEAM_HEROX,” and “WaRGem_CYBER_TEAM.”
Following the Hamas strike, the Indian security apparatus was on high alert, and cyber units did likewise. Attack prevention has been given to CERT-IN and the DRDO’s cyber division, according to officials.
The continued conflict
On Sunday, Israel formally declared war on Palestine. According to authorities on both sides, there have been roughly 900 deaths from the fighting so far in Israel and more than 680 in Gaza. More than 1,500 people have died as a result of the violence, which has led to calls for a stop to hostilities and for the protection of civilians. Israel shut off the water supply and placed a complete siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday while continuing to strike Palestinian targets there. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared that Israel will impose a “complete siege” and emphasised what this meant for its 2.3 million citizens: “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed.”
You might also be interested in – Indian hackers cause temporary shutdown of Canadian Army website, report says
