Indian Cyber Force Claims Responsibility for Cyber Attacks on Canadian Websites

Hyderabad: A group of pro-India hackers on Wednesday claimed responsibility for bringing down the website of the Canadian Armed Forces for two hours.

Following a diplomatic winter between India and Canada, the group, which identifies itself as Indian Cyber Force, warned of launching cyber attacks on Canadian websites on September 21.

In the last few days, the group had temporarily taken down the websites of Canada’s election authority Elections and Democracy and an Ottawa-based public hospital. It allegedly stole the private financial data of thousands of Canadians and shared it on social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).

Speaking to Canada’s newspaper The Globe and Mail, Daniel Le Bouthillier, head of media relations at Canada’s Department of National Defence, said, “the disruption started at noon but was rectified later that afternoon. Some desktop users could still access the website, while most mobile devices could not.”

The Canadian Armed Forces are investigating the issue, he said.

The attack comes after Canada’s intelligence agency, the Communications Security Establishment, warned the government’s IT administrators of possible cyber attacks.

The Indian Cyber Force has also threatened to launch cyber attacks on Pakistan and China on November 26, Indonesia and Pakistan on December 11, Pakistan, China Bangladesh and Indonesia on January 26, 2024 and Pakistan, China and Indonesia on February 14, 2024.