As Pakistan’s Independence Day approaches in 2025, heightened vigilance is essential to safeguard our digital infrastructure from evolving cyber threats. Cyber adversaries often exploit national celebrations and public holidays to launch malicious campaigns aimed at stealing sensitive data, disrupting critical systems, and undermining national security.

Threat Overview

Recent threat intelligence indicates an elevated risk of cyberattacks against Pakistani government agencies, businesses, and citizens in the days leading up to and during Independence Day 2025. Threat actors may exploit the festive atmosphere and reduced operational focus to carry out various malicious activities, including:

• Phishing Campaigns: Attackers may impersonate official entities or circulate enticing Independence Day-themed content via fraudulent emails, social media messages, or malicious websites. Such campaigns could lead to malware infections, data theft, or full system compromise.
• Ransomware Operations: The likelihood of ransomware incidents is higher during this period, with adversaries exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities to encrypt vital systems and demand ransom payments.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks: Cybercriminals may attempt to flood government and public service websites with excessive traffic, rendering them inaccessible and disrupting services.
• Data Breaches: Unauthorized access to confidential databases could result in leaks of sensitive governmental or corporate information, damaging reputation and operational security.
• Hacktivism: Indian hacktivist groups typically escalate activity during this month, targeting government or corporate domains with website defacements, data leaks, and DDoS disruptions.

Previous Incidents

Past incidents show a clear pattern of increased cyber activity during this period.

• On 5th of May, SideWinder APT leveraged a campaign with the document named "Caution Against Propaganda and Misinformation Campaigns.docx".
• On 22nd April, they released a document with the file name "Reference A (Invitation letter for Interactive Session of PIMEC 2025).docx" along with a malicious domain "pimec-paknavy.updates-installer.store".
• Throughout 2025, SideWinder carried out multiple activities against Pakistan, targeting army and government officials with different malicious documents and domains.
• Since the first week of 2025 till now, the Indian APT group Patchwork has been actively targeting Pakistan Army and government officials by masquerading malicious documents and domains to achieve their goal of compromising Pakistan.
• In mid-2024, the Indian-linked APT group SideWinder conducted spear-phishing campaigns using Pakistani government-themed domains, targeting both national institutions and maritime facilities.
• On May 2, 2024, the hacking group R00TK1T claimed responsibility for breaching the Sindh Police database infrastructure, compromising a vast trove of sensitive officer data.
• In 2021, Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) suffered a significant breach when attackers exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Hyper-V, disrupting multiple official websites.
• On the 70th Independence Day in 2017, Indian hackers defaced several government portals, replacing content with the Indian flag and anthem; in 2015, the ‘Hell Shield Hackers’ claimed to have taken down around 100 Pakistani business websites in a politically motivated act.

With an increase in cybercrime, cyber espionage, and cyber warfare, Pakistan is facing several cybersecurity concerns. As a result, many hacker groups have begun to target the nation's essential infrastructure, such as financial institutions, military and government networks, and power and energy systems.

Recommended Mitigation Measures

To counter these threats and ensure the safety and integrity of our digital assets, we strongly advise the following proactive measures:

• Reinforce cybersecurity awareness among all staff members, stressing the importance of scrutinizing emails and links, using strong passwords, and applying software updates promptly.
• Along with network and system hardening, code hardening should be implemented within the organization so that their websites and software are secure. Use testing tools to detect any vulnerabilities in the deployed codes.
• Enable two-factor authentication.
• Enable antivirus and anti-malware software and update signature definitions promptly. Using a multi-layered protection is necessary to secure vulnerable assets.
• Do not download documents attached in emails from unknown sources and strictly refrain from enabling macros when the source isn’t reliable.
• Enforce Access Management Policies
• Enforce MFA across all critical systems and accounts to add an extra layer of protection against unauthorized access.
• Maintain up-to-date and regularly tested backups of critical data to facilitate quick recovery in case of a ransomware incident.
• Keep all software, operating systems, and applications up to date with the latest security patches to address known vulnerabilities.
• Review and update the organization's incident response plan, ensuring that all stakeholders are aware of their roles and responsibilities in the event of a cyber incident.
• Establish continuous network monitoring to detect and respond to any unusual activities promptly.
• Collaborate with national and international cybersecurity agencies to exchange threat intelligence and stay informed about emerging threats.
• Raise public awareness about potential cyber threats during Independence Day celebrations and encourage citizens to adopt cybersecurity best practices.

By taking these precautions, we can collectively fortify our defenses and thwart potential cyberattacks during this significant period. Please remain vigilant, report any suspicious activities immediately, and work together to safeguard our digital sovereignty and national security.