Pakistan cyber army may have hacked Cong site

The Pakistan Cyber Army seems to have struck again and this time it has attacked Congress president Sonia Gandhi's profile page on the party website. Rajesh Ahuja reports.

The Pakistan Cyber Army seems to have struck again and this time it has attacked Congress president Sonia Gandhi's profile page on the party website.

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It is suspected that a Pakistani hacker who goes by the name of 'Khantastic haXor' is behind the incident.

"Khantastic haXor is a part of Pakistan Cyber Army. Earlier too, he has attacked many Indian government websites including that of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)," said an expert on cyber warfare who did not wish to be named.

Earlier, it was suspected that the attack on Sonia's profile might be the handiwork of an Indian hacker as it came within days of telecom minister Kapil Sibal asking social media sites to check inflammatory or defamatory content.

Cyber security experts now feel it could be a cross-border operation. The hacking was reported on Sonia Gandhi's 65th birthday.

After its detection, administrators shut the website temporarily and restored it after removing the obscene content.

"I would say in comparison to the cyber attacks on Indian security and intelligence installations in the last two years, the defacement of Sonia Gandhi's profile is a minor incident, but it still shows how vulnerable the Indian cyber space is," said Dhruv Soi, a cyber security expert and director of Torrid Networks, which specialises in information security.