Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Pakistan appears to be facing a wave of coordinated cyberattacks. A noticeable pattern has emerged, with several official Pakistani social media accounts posting alarming and often inflammatory updates, only to later delete the content and claim their accounts were hacked.
One prominent example is the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) website, which remained inaccessible for a significant portion of the morning. Visitors were met with a banner stating, “PSX website is under maintenance until further notice,” sparking concerns of a cyber breach.
In a more dramatic incident, the Economic Affairs Division of the Government of Pakistan posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) appealing to international partners for financial aid. The post cited heavy losses caused by enemy forces and a crashing stock market, urging global intervention to help de-escalate the situation. However, the tweet was quickly deleted, with officials clarifying that the account had been compromised. As of now, the handle itself appears to have been removed from the platform entirely.
A similar incident unfolded with the Karachi Port Trust’s official X account. The handle initially denied any naval attack by India, describing such claims as “completely false and baseless.” However, just two hours later, the same account published a post stating that the Indian Navy had inflicted heavy damage on the port, leading to significant property loss. The message also mentioned that emergency response operations were underway. This contradictory communication was eventually removed and replaced with a post assuring that the port remained fully operational, again attributing the previous post to a hacking incident.
On the Indian side, precautionary steps are being taken to secure critical digital infrastructure. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to assess the cybersecurity readiness of India’s financial institutions. In anticipation of potential cyber threats, Indian banks have been instructed to stay on high alert and bolster their digital security frameworks. A high-level meeting with banking officials is scheduled for the evening of Friday, 9 May, as India looks to fortify its financial systems amid the ongoing conflict.
