Indian hacking groups have been revealed to be involved in cyber attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sources informed that the group wants to steal sensitive information by carrying out cyber-attacks on diplomatic missions in both countries.
According to an advisory issued by the Cabinet Division, Cyber threat actors are continuously targeting strategic entities to gain access to sensitive information for exploitation. A targeted attack campaign has been observed by Indian hacking groups to gain access to individuals’ accounts to get sensitive information about Diplomatic Missions in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to the advisory, a spear-phishing campaign has been observed operating via a crafted letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the subject “Gallery of Officers Who Have Received National and Foreign Awards”. Indian APT groups and other such groups are involved in these campaigns and these groups through email ask recipients of foreign missions to share their personal information.
The Cabinet Division has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diplomatic Missions to take immediate steps to escape from these phishing attacks. Advisory recommends MoFA and Diplomatic Missions employ file integrity monitoring systems and two-factor authentication on all important accounts.
Pakistan became a victim of a sustained DoS attack for the first time in 2008 when the State Bank of Pakistan’s services were frozen for 21 days. Former CIA contractor Edward Snowden in March 2013 revealed that Pakistan was among the countries most targeted for surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). In June 2017, Pakistan’s Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs also warned the government that Pakistan was a principal target of cyber espionage. Likewise, in 2019, the mobile phones of some senior Pakistani officials were hacked.
