Cyber Incident Victim: Government of Kerala
Date:
Sep 2015
Location:
India
Summary
A Pakistani hacker known as Faisal defaced the Kerala government's official website, displaying a burning Indian flag and messages mocking its security while claiming affiliation with "Team Pak Cyber Attacker." In retaliation, Indian hacking collectives including Mallu Cyber Soldiers, Team Hind Hackers, and Hell Shield Hackers launched coordinated attacks, compromising over 40 Pakistani government and educational websites. These defacements featured burned Pakistani flags and taunting messages referencing the Kerala incident as motivation. The state's website became temporarily inaccessible but suffered no server damage, with restoration efforts initiated by Kerala's data center. No official statements were issued by either government regarding the reciprocal cyber operations.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 5 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On September 27, 2015, a Pakistani hacker identified as "Faisal" defaced the official website of the Government of Kerala and another Kerala government-affiliated website. The attacker replaced the homepage content with an image of a burning Indian flag accompanied by text declaring "Official website of the RC Office, Govt of Kerala- New Delhi Hacked!" and "Pakistan Zindabad." Additional text attributed to "Team Pak Cyber Attacker" stated, "Security is just an illusion." The hack rendered the Kerala government websites temporarily inaccessible, prompting maintenance and restoration efforts by Kerala State Data Center officials. Initial assessments indicated the defacement was limited to the homepage, with no reported compromise of underlying servers or data systems. Faisal’s Facebook profile suggested prior involvement in hacking Indian websites, though his exact identity remained unverified.
Within hours, Indian hacker collectives including The Mallu Cyber Soldiers, Team Hind Hackers, and CY83R_p1R735 launched retaliatory attacks against approximately 50 Pakistani websites. Targets included high-profile government domains such as the official websites of Pakistan’s presidency, federal cabinet, railways, and cultural department, alongside four educational sites. The defaced Pakistani pages displayed a burning Pakistani flag and messages including "UNITED AS ONE DIVIDED BY ZERO" and "Payback for hacking kerala.gov.in." The Mallu Cyber Soldiers claimed responsibility via Facebook, explicitly citing Faisal’s Kerala hack as motivation and stating, "46 Pakistan government websites got crashed and 4 educational websites got defaced." No official statements were issued by Indian or Pakistani authorities regarding the incidents. The reciprocal attacks exemplified ongoing cyber hostilities between the two nations, historically rooted in geopolitical tensions over Kashmir, with website defacements serving as a recurring tactic in their digital confrontations.