Maharashtra: Hackers suspected to be from east Asian countries; cops start probe after cyber attack on Indian websites

Representational image. Picture Courtesy/iStock

Many Indian websites including that of Thane city police were allegedly attacked by international hackers on Tuesday. The Maharashtra police have now begun a probe into the matter and primary investigations have suggested that its origin was from some of the east Asian countries.

The cyber crime investigators strongly suspect that the cyber attack could have been due to recent incidents of communal nature in various places in the country, said a senior police officer from Maharashtra police.

Multiple websites including government and private were targeted by a suspected group of hackers. The Thane city police commissionerate's website was allegedly hacked on Tuesday for more than five hours with a message appearing on it, demanding an apology to "Muslims all over the world."

Speaking to mid-day.com, Sunil Lokhande, Deputy Commissioner of Police - Thane, said, "The problem on the website began at around 4 am and by 9:30 am, we were able to rectify the issue and restore the website. We will be registering an FIR in the matter and further investigating the case."

Also Read: Thane police website hacked, hackers post message demanding apology to Muslims

The message appearing on the website mentioned that the website was allegedly hacked by 'One Hat Cyber Team.'

"Hacked by one hat cyber team. Hello Indian Government, Hello everyone. Again and again you make trouble with the problem of the Islamic Religion. Hurry up and apologize to Muslims all over the world!! We don't stand still when our apostle is insulted," a message displayed on a black background on the screen read.

When contacted, Additional DG, Cyber Cell, Maharashtra, Madhukar Pandey said, "After recent incidents of communal nature in various places in the country, we have observed by our monitoring of social media and other platforms that some hacker groups have given a call to hack and deface Indian websites. It is reported that many Indian sites have been attacked in the last 3 days."

He said, "Today, the Thane police website was defaced. About that, we informed CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) and also the NIC (National Informatics Centre) teams and then it was shut down. We are also coordinating with the national critical information infrastructure protection center wherever necessary. All units as well as NIC have been advised to examine the vulnerabilities in their websites and plug gaps, some of these sites may become vulnerable while undergoing transition to a safer environment. The exact nature of the attack is being investigated but primary info suggests its origin is from some east Asian countries. Legal action is being taken. We are in touch with CERT, NIC and other relevant organisation's."

Following the attack, Cyber and Privacy Lawyer, Dr Prashant Mali also tweeted about the hacking attack.

The Cyber Law Expert told mid-day.com, "These hacking and defacement have now become the International mode of protests. This brings the cause to the limelight globally and also exposes our weak cybersecurity in websites. I feel a National investigation in this matter of cyber crime is required to show our investigation agencies' skill set."