NEW DELHI: A group of Pakistani hackers, “Pakistan Cyber Force,” claimed to have hacked the live broadcast and digital assets of Indian news channel ABP News.
During this operation, the Pakistani flag, slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad” and content related to the Pakistan Army were displayed on the channel’s screen. According to reports, the hackers also played excerpts of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s speech while interfering in the broadcast.
The cyber-attack comes at a time when tensions are high in the region due to the Iran-US-Israel conflict and cyber groups from both countries are targeting each other’s media houses and defence websites. Indian cybersecurity agencies have started investigating the incident and have issued instructions to media houses to remain on high alert.
The attack is being described as a response to the cyberattacks on Pakistan’s own media houses. Just 24 hours before this, the broadcasts of major Pakistani channels like Geo News, ARY News and Samaa TV were also hacked on Sunday evening. Messages in favour of Israel’s intelligence agency “Mossad” and against Pakistani institutions were broadcast on these channels.
Defence experts are calling this the first major “full-scale cyber war” in South Asia, where hackers from both countries are directly targeting infrastructure, power grids, and now media houses.
The Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Cyber Security Agency (CERT-In) have taken notice of the incident and have sought a report from the management of ABP News. According to initial investigations, the hackers exploited a vulnerability in the satellite uplink or cloud-based playout system.
Read also: Israeli and Indian hackers hacked Geo News transmission, inserted anti-Pakistan Army content
