India’s digital security is facing heightened threats as Pakistani hacker groups attempt to breach key defense institutions. The cyber war is escalating—and Indian agencies are preparing for the long haul.

Cyber War Intensifies: From Borders to Bandwidth

India’s national security challenges are no longer confined to physical borders. Following the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Pakistan appears to have intensified its cyber warfare campaign, directly targeting Indian military-affiliated digital infrastructures.

According to reliable intelligence and media reports, several Indian Army-run educational and defense institutions have become the focus of coordinated hacking attempts, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the nation’s cyber defenses.

The first wave of attacks was aimed at Indian Army-affiliated academic institutions. As per a report by The Economic Times, the official websites of Army Public School (APS) Nagrota and APS Sunjwan were compromised and remained offline through Monday evening.

Just days earlier, on April 25, the Army College of Nursing in Jalandhar Cantt was reportedly breached by a hacker group calling itself “TEAM INSANE PK”, which uploaded inflammatory content and visuals intended to provoke and destabilize.

The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), one of India’s premier strategic think tanks, was also allegedly targeted. A group claiming to be the Pakistan Cyber Force claimed it had stolen 10 GB of sensitive data, including details of over 1,600 users. However, top officials at the institute have categorically denied these claims in a statement to ANI, dismissing the reports as misinformation or psychological warfare tactics.

In another serious breach attempt, the website of Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), a defense PSU under the Ministry of Defence, was taken offline for security auditing. Hackers reportedly replaced an Indian tank image with a Pakistani one, accompanied by the taunting message: “Your security is illusion. MES data owned.”

Apart from "TEAM INSANE PK" and "Pakistan Cyber Force", other hacker groups including “Internet of Khilafah”, “HOAX1337”, and “National Cyber Crew” have also been linked to attempted cyber intrusions targeting Indian defense-related entities. Indian cyber agencies, however, acted swiftly to neutralize these threats before they could cause any major damage.

These cyber incursions follow the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which has once again escalated tensions between India and Pakistan. Security experts believe that the cyber offensive is part of a hybrid warfare strategy, where digital aggression complements ground-level destabilization attempts.

India is not taking these threats lightly. Sources confirmed to ET that continuous surveillance of cyber activity is underway. The Ministry of Defence has issued high-alert warnings across all affiliated institutions, and cybersecurity protocols are being upgraded nationwide to prevent future breaches.

Cyber defense drills, threat simulations, and firewall audits are being accelerated. Indian intelligence agencies are also tracking the origin and coordination patterns of these hacking groups, with the possibility of retaliatory cyber actions not ruled out.

As cyber warfare becomes a modern extension of geopolitical conflict, India finds itself in the middle of a digital battleground where strategic institutions are high-value targets. The attacks underscore the urgent need for robust cybersecurity infrastructure, proactive monitoring, and international cooperation in cyber defense.

For now, India remains vigilant and resilient, ready to meet this new generation of threats with both technology and strategy.