Border Cyber Threats: Pakistan’s Digital Activity Against India

In the digital age, the Kashmir conflict turned into an information war, where stories were used as weapons. After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor to attack terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. At the same time, cyberspace turned into a battlefield. Over 2 lakh attempts – Targeting mainly power systems and government networks, Pakistan-linked hacker groups such as Advanced Persistent Threats (APT36) and SideCopy used fake websites, phishing emails and malware to steal data and disrupt services. Social media was also flooded with fake news, deepfakes and old data leaks to spread fear and confusion. Although these attacks caused little actual damage, they were aimed at undermining public confidence and creating panic. Similar cyber tactics have been seen in other conflicts such as Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas. In response, India strengthened its cyber security, issued alerts and increased fact-checking. This shows that modern wars now involve digital attacks alongside conventional military action.

This paper assesses Pakistan’s anti-India cyber activities and strategies, including technical attacks, attempts to influence public opinion through disinformation, and cyber activities during the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.