Indian hacker group defaces websites; more than 100 targeted

The Indian Army could not get a chance to retaliate to the audacious 26/11 attacks on Mumbai but an underground group of hackers have hit back on the anniversary of the attacks in the virtual world.


Bravehearts: A webshot of indishell.in

The Indian Cyber Army (ICA) powered by indishell.in carried out a mass defacement operation on key Pakistani websites to pay "homage to the martyrs of the terror attacks".

The attacks started on the anniversary of the terrorist strikes and each success was celebrated by posting a patriotic message and pictures of Indian martyrs on the website.

According to one of the members of the community, the hacking attacks were carried out to send across a message to the perpetrators of the strikes on Mumbai. "We are not seeking any monetary benefits out of it. This particular attack was done to convey a message to the Pakistani citizens that Indians won't be sitting ducks. And 26/11 was the ideal time for conveying this message when our brave soldiers laid down their lives for their country," he said.

Indian Cyber Army consists of members with identities like Jackh4x0r, LuCkY, SiLeNtp0is0n]-, Str1k3r, InX_ro0t, Darkl00k,Ne0h4ck3r, Mr52, Th3.rdx, G00gl3warr10r, Atuldwivedi, c00lt0ad andu00a0 eXesouL "After each successful attack, a webpage was created displaying pictures of our brave soldiers along with a highly patriotic Indian song as background music to express our anger. We wish that every Pakistani should listen to the background music and read our message," another member of the group told MiD DAY.

A number of websites of critical importance were targeted during the onslaught. The sites that were defaced include that of the official website of the Pakistan government, ministry of foreign affairs, Pakistan Navy, Ministry of Science and Technology and official portal of auditor general of Pakistan.

Cyber crime experts say days of historic importance are a favourite with hackers. "There has been a sudden increase in the number of attacks this week, and the reason clearly is 26/11. Hackers from both the countries launch attacks on days of historic importance," said Dhruv Soi, director of Torrid networks.

Experts opined that the government should tap into the talent pool from the hackers and use their skills. "Indian government can very well utilize such highly motivated and skilled resources to work for the nation, the way Chinese Cyber Army works for China Liberation Army," added Soi.