Emerging Cybersecurity Threats in the Wake of 
Operation Sindoor

This report from Cybervahak examines how the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack and India’s response through Operation Sindoor marked a turning point in the nation’s cyber threat landscape. What followed was not random cybercrime but a coordinated surge in activity by Pakistan-aligned Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups operating with strategic intent.

Based on extensive telemetry, CERT-In alerts, and open-source intelligence collected between January 2024 and May 2025, this 50+ page intelligence brief reveals the scale and evolution of the threat.

 

Key highlights include:

• Attribution of major breaches to APT36 (Transparent Tribe), SideCopy, and a newly emerging APT10-style actor codenamed Cosmic Leopard

• A shift in tactics from commodity malware to complex infiltration chains, including weaponized PowerPoint add-ins, WinRAR vulnerabilities, and cross-platform malware for Windows, Linux, and Android

• Six real-world case studies covering cyberattacks following the Pahalgam crisis, military and election-related phishing, and deep intrusions into academic and defense contractor ecosystems

• Deep technical analysis of toolkits and infrastructure, highlighting the blending of open-source malware, custom implants, cloud-based command-and-control, and advanced mobile surveillance campaigns

• Strategic and operational recommendations tailored to CISOs, public-sector leaders, and enterprise defenders. Topics include Zero Trust implementation, red teaming, SCADA segmentation, public-private threat intelligence sharing, and policy-level cyber governance

In addition to the analysis, this report includes detailed Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) for each case study. These IOCs are designed to help security teams proactively integrate threat indicators into their detection tools, SIEMs, and SOC workflows to strengthen real-world defenses.

 

Whether you are responsible for critical infrastructure, enterprise security, or national cyber strategy, this report offers an unfiltered view of the escalating digital threat India now faces and how to prepare for what comes next.

 

🛡️ Get informed. Stay prepared. Defend forward.