Just days after the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, the website of the Army College of Nursing has been defaced in a suspected cross-border cyber offensive. According to NDTV, a Pakistan-based hacking collective that calls itself Team Insane PK has claimed responsibility for the breach.
The intrusion follows a sharp escalation in diplomatic hostilities between India and Pakistan. In response to the Pahalgam attack, India had announced several measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and the expulsion of defence advisors from the Pakistani High Commission.
Further restrictions came on Thursday, April 24, with New Delhi revoking Pakistani visas — except long-term ones issued to Hindu nationals — and instructing most Pakistani citizens to leave within 72 hours.
Islamabad, in turn, issued retaliatory declarations. It announced a review of all bilateral agreements, including the landmark Simla Agreement, and closed its airspace to Indian carriers.
Amid this heightened tension, the hackers left a provocative message on the defaced Army College of Nursing site, invoking themes such as the two-nation theory. The institution, while autonomous, operates under the Army Welfare Education Society.
Army sources told NDTV that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the national agency for handling cybersecurity incidents, will likely be called in for technical assistance.
Team Insane PK has previously targeted Indian systems with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and website defacements. Among their earlier targets were websites of government agencies, educational institutions, and private firms, including a notable 2024 attack on fast-food chain Burger Singh. That hack came in response to a promotional code titled "FPak20", perceived as derogatory.
Burger Singh had then responded with humour, acknowledging the unintended consequences of the promo and even allowing the hackers' digital graffiti to remain on their site for a day, calling it an “open mic night for hackers”.
