An Indian army solider walks past the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019.

A decades-long conflict between India and Pakistan has escalated this week, with India reporting airstrikes against Pakistan.

Both are nuclear powers, and in addition to traditional military tactics, both have been engaged in an online war of words and damaging hacks for more than 20 years.

While countries like Russia, China and North Korea have often dominated the international landscape for their cyberattack capabilities, both India and Pakistan also have formidable government hacking programs, as well as populations with strong technology skills and access to hacking tools.

As far back as 1998, Pakistani hackers successfully penetrated India's Atomic Research Center. Pakistani groups have launched several successful "hacktivist" campaigns throughout the late 1990s and escalating through the 2000s to today. Hacktivism refers to cyberattacks fueled by an ideology, and usually involves taking over a popular government or media website and posting defacing messages on them to embarrass the rival party or spread a message.