Pakistani operatives hit back after popular news channels were compromised with pro-Mossad, anti-establishment messaging in what analysts called a coordinated state-level intrusion.
Pakistani cyber forces launched a broad retaliatory digital offensive overnight, hacking into a major Indian television broadcaster, disrupting Israeli government websites, and claiming access to Mossad-linked databases, in an escalation that has opened a new and rapidly intensifying front in the information war surrounding the US-Israel strikes on Iran.
The counter-offensive came roughly 24 hours after Pakistan’s three largest news channels were simultaneously compromised in what security analysts described as a highly coordinated, state-level intrusion. Live stream transmissions of the news channels were interrupted after Iftar, with messages critical of the Pakistan military and its leadership displayed on screen.
Pakistan’s response came in the disruption of ABP News channel, displaying a “Pakistan Zindabad” message on screen while airing a video clip in favor of Field Marshal Asim Munir.
The ABP News YouTube channel, which commands more than 30 million subscribers, was among the platforms compromised, with the Field Marshal’s video posted directly before access was restored.
ABP News is one of India’s most-watched news networks, and the hack was timed for maximum visibility. It was not the only platform targetted:
Beyond India, Pakistani operatives claimed to have conducted distributed denial-of-service operations against Israeli government websites and to have accessed databases linked to Mossad and other Israeli state institutions. Those claims, circulating widely on social media accounts associated with Pakistani hacktivist networks, had not been independently verified as of the time of writing. Israel’s National Cyber Directorate had not issued any public statement acknowledging the intrusions.
The digital exchange is taking place against one of the most volatile regional moments in years. The US-Israel strikes on Iran that began on Saturday killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with senior IRGC commanders, triggering a wave of Iranian ballistic missile and drone strikes against Israeli cities and sparking immediate outrage across the Muslim world.
The development prompted Pakistan’s relevant authorities to take immediate action, with local media reports stating that counter-cyber operations, including distributed denial-of-service actions against Israeli government websites, had been initiated in response.
No official statement had been issued by any government office yet.