Cyber Incident Victim: Kasganj News Portal
Date:
Dec 2015
Location:
India
Summary
A local news portal in Kasganj district was compromised by suspected Pakistan-based hackers, resulting in website defacement featuring Pakistani songs and a message from the group "Mr 4nOnymOus (034th adr355 Cr3w)" claiming "Security is just an allusion." The attackers blocked access to the original content, prompting the owner to file a police complaint citing national security implications. Law enforcement escalated the case to Agra's cyber security unit for investigation. This incident followed prior cyber campaigns where Pakistani hackers targeted multiple Indian government websites, subsequently met by retaliatory actions from Indian hackers against Pakistani government domains. Authorities classified the breach as a serious national security matter during their probe.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 2 techniques |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On December 30, 2015, the Kasganj-based news portal www.Kasganjlive.in was compromised by suspected Pakistan-based hackers, with the intrusion occurring during the early morning hours of the preceding Wednesday. The attackers replaced the website’s normal content with Pakistani songs and displayed a defacement message attributed to a group calling itself "Mr 4nOnymOus (034th adr355 Cr3w)," which claimed involvement of 17 members. The message declared, “Security is just an allusion, we are legions, we do not forget, we do not forgive, expect us.” Narendar Paliwal, owner of the media firm operating the portal, filed a formal police complaint stating the website had been rendered inaccessible except for the unauthorized audio content. Kasganj Superintendent of Police Himanshu Kumar classified the breach as a serious national security concern and referred the case to Agra’s cyber security cell for investigation. The incident disrupted local news dissemination through the portal, which remained blocked following the attack.
This event occurred against a backdrop of escalating cyber confrontations between Pakistani and Indian hacking groups. In September 2015, Pakistani hackers had previously targeted approximately two dozen official websites of the Chhattisgarh government and multiple Kerala government portals. Indian hackers subsequently retaliated by compromising over 250 Pakistani government websites. The Kasganj incident mirrored the tactics observed in these earlier attacks, where defacement and service disruption were primary objectives. Law enforcement focused on technical forensic analysis through the cyber cell to identify the perpetrators, though no attribution details or remediation timeline were disclosed in initial reports. The attack underscored vulnerabilities in regional digital infrastructure while highlighting the persistent cross-border cyber hostilities during this period.