Over 60% Cyber Threats To India Come From China And Pakistan; Defence, Telecom & CAPFs On Target

Last Updated:March 19, 2026, 09:07 IST

Experts say unlike opportunistic attacks, these ATPs are intentional and focused on high-value assets like defence establishments or financial institutions

The majority of the Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)—sophisticated cyberattacks where intruders gain unauthorised access to networks to steal data and sensitive information—that India encountered were led by China and Pakistan, agencies have found. News18 has learnt this was also discussed as one of the agendas at recent high-level meetings within the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

While more than 50 per cent of such threats were led by China, Pakistan backed 15 per cent of them, News18 has learnt from sources privy to the matter. Departments with sensitive information like the Ministry of Defence, telecom sector, Central Armed Paramilitary Forces and the IT sector primarily remained on the target of these attacks.

Experts say unlike opportunistic attacks, these ATPs are intentional and focused on high-value assets like defence establishments or financial institutions. The orchestrators here aim for gradual yet long term impacts to avoid detection using sophisticated custom-build malware.

The purpose usually is to gather intelligence, steal crucial data or access sensitive information, said an official on the condition of anonymity.

India faces a high number of cyberattacks and threats every year.

According to the 2024 annual report of CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) that tracks latest cyber threats and vulnerabilities and comes under the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology, the agency in the year 2024 alone handled 20,41,360 incidents.

The type of incidents handled were Website Intrusion & Malware Propagation, Malicious Code, Phishing, Distributed Denial of Service attacks, Website Defacements, Unauthorized Network

Scanning/Probing activities, Ransomware attacks, Data Breach and Vulnerable Services. Remedial measures for handling incidents were suggested and implemented in coordination with relevant stakeholders.

A total of 959 security alerts, 72 advisories and 360 vulnerability notes were issued during the year 2024 by CERT-In.

News india Over 60% Cyber Threats To India Come From China And Pakistan; Defence, Telecom & CAPFs On Target

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