India-Pakistan Tensions Spill into Cyberspace After Pahalgam Tragedy

The recent Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, has intensified tensions between India and Pakistan, fueling demands for retaliation and heightened security responses. While conventional military operations have not begun, a parallel conflict has erupted in cyberspace.

According to an Economic Times report, pro-India cyber groups have breached Pakistani government and private sector systems, targeting entities such as Euro Oil, Sindh Police, the AJK Supreme Court, and others. In retaliation, Pakistani hackers defaced the Indian Army College of Nursing’s website, leaving religiously charged messages that echoed the rhetoric of Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir.

Cybersecurity professionals warn that these cyberattacks are no longer isolated incidents—they’re increasingly a strategic extension of geopolitical hostility. Both sides have been deploying phishing tools, fake government domains, and DDoS attacks to destabilize each other’s digital infrastructure and public confidence.

Indian officials assert that numerous recent cyberattacks from Pakistan have been successfully intercepted. These attacks, reportedly state-sponsored, have targeted defense, public administration, and critical infrastructure.

Despite the rising hostility and India’s decision to freeze all cross-border activity beginning May 1, the Indian government has allowed Pakistani nationals stranded in India to return home via the Attari border—a rare humanitarian gesture amid growing military and cyber pressures.

This escalating digital warfare reflects a dangerous evolution in India-Pakistan hostilities, where the frontlines have shifted from physical borders to keyboards and code.

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