ISLAMABAD: In a revealing address at the 22nd Subroto Mukherjee Seminar inNew Delhi, Major General Sandeep Sharda, Additional Director General ofStrategic Communications for the Indian Army, detailed how Pakistanorchestrated a sophisticated large-scale cyber and information warfarecampaign against India during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. The operation,launched by India in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed26 civilians, saw immediate parallel digital aggression from Pakistan,involving over 1.5 million cyberattacks on the first day alone, alongsidenearly 30 million attempts targeting the National Stock Exchange. Thismulti-domain assault combined kinetic military actions with cyberintrusions, deepfakes and coordinated disinformation, highlighting theevolving nature of modern hybrid conflicts between the two nuclear-armedneighbours.
The cyber offensive commenced on 7 May 2025, coinciding with India’sprecision missile strikes on nine terrorist infrastructure sites linked togroups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Major General Shardadisclosed that seven Advanced Persistent Threat groups, many linked toPakistani entities, were activated to penetrate Indian networks. Theseattacks aimed at disrupting critical infrastructure, sowing confusion andundermining public confidence. Defence analysts note that such volume ofattempts reflects a pre-planned strategy, with malware campaigns deployingRemote Access Trojans to compromise government, military and civiliansystems across India.
Information warfare formed a critical pillar of Pakistan’s approach, asofficial channels including the Directorate General of Inter-ServicesPublic Relations disseminated doctored videos and biased narratives withinminutes of India’s strikes. Coordinated social media campaigns utilisedthousands of accounts to propagate identical messaging, often in the samelanguage patterns, achieving rapid dissemination in 30 to 40 minutes. Overone lakh videos were generated from just 43 recurring themes, amplifyingfalse claims about civilian casualties, downed Indian aircraft andexaggerated Pakistani successes. This swift narrative control sought toinfluence domestic opinion in Pakistan and international perceptions.
Deepfake technology played a prominent role in the disinformation efforts,with AI-generated synthetic media targeting Indian military leaders. MajorGeneral Sharda reported that in the months following Operation Sindoor, hisoffice identified 217 deepfakes, including 164 related to the Indian Army,nine involving the Chief of Defence Staff, 23 featuring the Chief of theArmy Staff and others affecting air and naval chiefs. These fabricatedclips, often altered minimally from authentic speeches, appeared withinhalf an hour of original statements, demonstrating advanced capabilities invoice cloning and lip-sync manipulation. Such tactics aimed to erode trustin official communications and create operational confusion.
Influencers and proxy networks were leveraged extensively to extend thereach of these narratives. Pakistan deployed YouTube channels, formeraccounts and government-affiliated handles to spread claims, with somecontent traced to embedded journalists in global media outlets. Instancesincluded false flag allegations portraying the Pahalgam attack as staged byIndia and fabricated admissions of defeat by Pakistani leaders. Theseefforts occasionally influenced segments of international reporting, thoughswift Indian fact-checking mitigated broader impact. The use of influencershighlighted a shift towards cognitive warfare, where perception managementrivals physical engagements in strategic importance.
India’s response to this digital onslaught proved robust, with layereddefences thwarting most cyber intrusions and strategic communicationscountering disinformation effectively. The Indian military’s multi-domainintegration during Operation Sindoor demonstrated preparedness acrosscyber, space and information domains alongside conventional forces.Official briefings and collaborations with platforms led to rapid contentremoval, limiting the longevity of false narratives. This experienceunderscored the necessity for enhanced digital resilience and real-timemonitoring in future conflicts.
The revelations by Major General Sharda serve as a cautionary account ofhow cyber warfare and information operations can parallel kinetic actionsin South Asia. With Operation Sindoor marking a significant escalationsince previous standoffs, the integration of AI-driven tools like deepfakessignals a new threshold in hybrid threats. Both nations now face thechallenge of balancing offensive capabilities with defensive measures toprevent miscalculations that could arise from manipulated information. Asgeopolitical tensions persist, the role of credible strategiccommunications becomes indispensable in maintaining stability.
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Experts emphasise that such campaigns not only target military objectivesbut also aim at societal cohesion and economic stability. The attempteddisruptions to financial systems like the National Stock Exchangeillustrate the broadening scope of cyber targets beyond traditional defencenetworks. Continuous vigilance, international cooperation on cyber normsand investment in counter-deepfake technologies will be essential to deterfuture large-scale digital aggressions in the region.
Source:https://www.thestatesman.com/india/15-lakh-cyberattacks-and-nearly-30-million-attacks-on-nse-major-general-sandeep-sharda-reveals-major-cyber-warfare-by-pak-during-op-sindoor-1503544365.html
Deepfakes, Cyber Warfare
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