Pakistani hackers target India’s taxation department

A group calling itself ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ (an expression of patriotism) has claimed responsibility for a cyber attack on the Indian Revenue Service (IRS). The site was targeted early on 6 February, since when it has been inaccessible. The government’s Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) has reportedly been tasked with resolving the situation, and has said that although the perpetrators had access to sensitive information about IRS officials, there have been no reports of data theft.

Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

A group who proclaim themselves as Pakistanis have hacked into the official website of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), a government section tasked with collecting revenue through various direct and indirect taxes for development, security and governance.

This isn't the first time a Pakistani-based group has hacked into Indian websites, the Kerala government's website and the Srirangam temple's website fell victim to Pakistani hackers back in 2015.

According to a report in Indian Express, the official website of the IRS: http://www.irsofficersonline. gov.in - was hacked early Saturday, after which the hackers wrote "Pakistan Zindabad" and "We are cyber attack team of Pakistan" as reported by Officials. The site has been inaccessible since then.

A report by the Daily, the hackers managed to hack into the section of the website that is restricted to IRS officers and wrote “Hacked by Faisal 1337, Dated: 05/02/2016, Pakistan Zindabad” and “We are Team Pak Cyber Attacker. Go Home Kiddo India Kids Hacker.” and “Feel the power of Pakistan, Indian gov website Pwned (sic).”

Anybody trying to access the website now will get a message saying “We’ll be back soon! Sorry for the inconvenience but we’re performing some maintenance at the moment.”

The Computer Emergency Response Team of India or CERT-In, a government controlled organization that deals with cyber security threats have been tasked with the situation.

The hackers had access to sensitive information regarding Indian revenue service officials although there is no official reports of any theft of data, according to CERT-In.

The Daily reported that an IRS officer said, “Thankfully, the website does not have information that can compromise national security.”