US cybersecurity firm reveals Indian hackers extracting data from Pakistani military, nuclear regulator

A group of hackers with links to the Indian military has been using a pair of mobile surveillance tools to spy on Pakistan and Kashmir’s geopolitical targets.

According to a report from the US cybersecurity company named Lookout Inc, “The group is known for hijacking authorized web services in South Asia and embedding surveillance devices or malware inside these apps and services to conduct espionage.

The report further revealed that since 2017, the hackers have relied on spyware to target Pakistani military officials, top nuclear regulator, and Indian election officials in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

The hacker group managed to trick victims into installing knock-off web applications disguised as safety tools and applications. After that, they entered the victims’ devices and obtained the data, including recorded phone calls, call logs, contacts, geolocation, photographs, and voice notes.

As a result, mobile devices of more than 150 high-profile Pakistani officials were targeted, and the data was stored on unsecured servers.

Lookout researchers recently identified the servers and found that most users who have been accessing the data are based in Northern India.

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