A group known as Pakistan Cyber Force hacked India’s ABP News on Monday, displaying content in support of Pakistan Army, following a wave of cyberattacks on multiple Pakistani news channels the previous day. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that the operation targeted the Hindi-language channel to run excerpts of speeches by Pakistan Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir alongside other pro-army content. Slogans such as Pakistan Zindabad were also displayed, with officials describing the attack as a retaliatory measure following disruptions experienced by local media outlets in Pakistan.
The cyber incident comes in the wake of repeated attacks on prominent Pakistani news channels, including Geo News, ARY News, and SAMAA. Geo Managing Director Azhar Abbas confirmed that the 9 p.m. bulletin on Geo News was disrupted on Sunday by unknown elements attempting to hijack broadcasts. The channel’s screen was altered to display inappropriate messages critical of military leadership, prompting calls for investigation and accountability. Similarly, other Pakistani channels reported disruptions, with Express Tribune noting that their websites were allegedly exploited to display online advertisement campaigns linked to Mossad.
Cybersecurity experts indicated that these attacks highlight growing vulnerability of media organizations in Pakistan and the region amid escalating geopolitical tensions. The development coincided with broader unrest in the Middle East, where joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, including the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were accompanied by cyber-enabled operations targeting Iranian websites. Among the hacked Iranian platforms was BadeSaba, a religious calendar app with millions of users, which was manipulated to display messages encouraging armed forces to surrender and signaling broader campaigns of influence across digital channels.
The ABP News hack underscores the increasingly complex nature of regional cyber operations and the use of media networks as vectors for political messaging. Analysts pointed out that the sequence of attacks reflects both opportunistic and retaliatory strategies, with groups leveraging vulnerabilities in broadcast systems and online platforms to project narratives and influence public perception. Officials in Pakistan and India have not reported major system breaches beyond the altered broadcasts, though the incidents have prompted renewed calls for enhanced cybersecurity measures within media houses and state institutions to prevent future exploitation of digital infrastructure during periods of heightened tension.
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