In the aftermath of escalating cross-border tensions following the April 22 Pahalgam terror assault, Indian cybersecurity agencies have noticed a worrying shift in strategy: a digital onslaught aimed at civilians. The malware campaign, reportedly linked to Pakistani threat actors, has sparked widespread alarm about Indian residents’ vulnerability to targeted cyber assaults.
Officials believe the attack, known as the ‘Dance of the Hillary’ malware, is spreading via WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, and email. It disguises itself as video files or documents, frequently ending with suspicious extensions like as.exe—notably tasksche.exe—and, once downloaded, can acquire unauthorised access to mobile devices and computers.
Experts warn that the ultimate purpose is to extract confidential information such as financial credentials, official IDs, and communication records. Intelligence services have declared a high alert and issued public warnings against opening unknown attachments, particularly at a period of global upheaval.
Malware deployment