India Tells Financial Sector to Strengthen Cyberdefenses #IndiaFinance

Tensions between the two countries ratcheted significantly upward Friday amid reports of drone and artillery strikes in Kashmir, the divided Himalayan area that’s been a source of periodic armed flare-ups and three wars between India and Pakistan. India launched attacks against Pakistan on Wednesday, targeting what it said was “terrorist infrastructure.” Operation Sindoor follows an April 22 attack that killed 26 people in a popular vacation spot in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi said is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, Islamist militants based in Pakistan (see: Breach Roundup: India and Pakistan Publish Dueling Cybersecurity Advisories).

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman convened Friday a high-level meeting with the heads of public and private sector banks and insurance companies, directing them to maintain uninterrupted banking services and ATM cash availability, strengthen cybersecurity with anti-DDoS protections and coordinate with security agencies.

A viral WhatsApp message has circulated across India that ATMs would shut down for two to three days due to the escalating conflict. The Press Information Bureau, a component of the Ministry of Information, labeled the message as “fake” in a Friday tweet and said ATMs will continue to function normally.

The closed-door session with Sitharaman included representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, the National Payments Corporation of India and CERT-In. Sitharaman instructed banks to audit their cyber defenses, ensure complete firewalling of digital and core banking infrastructure and maintain continuous monitoring systems. “Banking services, both physical and digital, must function without disruption and glitches,” she said, adding that emergency protocols must be regularly updated and tested for real-world contingencies.

Ritesh Bhatia, a cybersecurity expert of over two decades, called the current environment “a tech war” involving not just traditional cyberattacks but also new threats powered by artificial intelligence. “There is a fifth class of war now: AI cyber,” he told Information Security Media Group. “Deepfakes, disinformation and cloned voices can manipulate even seasoned professionals. It’s not about whether these attacks will happen, but when.”

Bhatia said small financial institutions, especially regional and cooperative banks, are particularly vulnerable. “They’re the low-hanging fruit,” he said, noting the lack of sophisticated cybersecurity infrastructure and often outdated backup protocols.

“When ransomware strikes, it’s not always the tech giants who get hit the hardest – it’s the ones who didn’t back up,” he said. The finance minister directed all banks to appoint two senior-level officers, one responsible for cybersecurity reporting and the other for operational continuity, including cash availability and branch functioning. These officers are required to report incidents in real-time to CERT-In and the Department of Financial Services.

Banks were also asked to coordinate with the Reserve Bank of India to ensure swift, real-time information sharing. The focus, officials said, is on maintaining service continuity even in high-risk zones.

Disinformation Rampant

Fake, old and unrelated videos and claims made the rounds on social media, using images taken from the Gaza Strip and the Beirut blast from 2020

The Indian government dismissed as fake a letter that asserted India’s Chief of Army staff Gen VK Narayan issued a “confidential letter” on military preparedness to Northern Command officers. The Press Information Bureau clarified that Gen VK Saxena is not the Chief of Army Staff.

A recurring theme is portraying the other country’s destruction and humiliation. One regional Indian news channel falsely reported that India had destroyed 12 Pakistani cities in an air strike and the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was hiding in a bunker for his safety. Some media outlets went further to report that the Pakistani army had surrendered and Islamabad was captured.

Some outlets also used deepfake technology used to spread false narratives of Pakistani military defeat. A widely shared AI-generated video falsely showing a Pakistani army general admitting the loss of two fighter jets, was uploaded by several social media. The video falsely claimed that India had downed two JF-17s and an F-16 on Thursday, citing a fabricated statement from DGISPR, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s armed forces.