Cyber Incident Victim: Maharaja Manindra College
Date:
Oct 2015
Location:
India
Summary
Websites of several Kolkata colleges, including Maharaja Manindra College, were hacked and defaced with black flags, images of a burning Indian flag, and anti-India slogans such as 'Shiv Sena Murdabad' and 'Pakistan Zindabad', with a Pakistani hacker group named 'Virushacker' claiming responsibility. The Cyber Police Station at Lalbazar initiated efforts to restore the compromised websites and investigate the incident, though no formal complaints had been filed by the affected institutions at the time of reporting.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On October 31, 2015, websites belonging to multiple colleges in Kolkata, including Maharaja Manindra College, Ram Mohan College, and Anandamohan College, were compromised by hackers. The attackers defaced the sites by replacing their content with black flags and displaying images of a burning Indian flag alongside anti-India slogans. Messages reading 'Shiv Sena Murdabad' and 'Pakistan Zindabad' were prominently featured, accompanied by a claim of responsibility from 'Virushacker,' a hacking entity self-identifying as Pakistani. The defacements disrupted normal website operations, preventing legitimate access to institutional information. College administrators discovered the breach upon visually observing the altered content on their domains. No immediate reports indicated data theft or secondary malware deployment beyond the visible defacement.
The Cyber Police Station at Lalbazar, Kolkata Police headquarters, initiated an investigation upon learning of the incidents through informal channels, as no formal complaints had been filed by the affected colleges by the time of their response. Police officials confirmed their primary objectives were determining the full scope of impacted institutions and restoring website functionality. Investigators did not publicly disclose technical details regarding attack vectors or infrastructure vulnerabilities exploited in the breaches. The incident drew attention to website security practices at educational institutions but yielded no documented statements about financial losses, data compromises, or prolonged service outages. Law enforcement continued working to identify the perpetrators while coordinating with colleges to reinstate legitimate web content.