Thiruvananthapuram: The official website of the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Keralam government was defaced on Sunday morning by a group that identified itself as Pakistani, officials said. A Pakistani flag and a message claiming responsibility were posted on the site before the hosting provider suspended the account, the department said.
Immediate response and probe
GAD officials said the site was noticed to be compromised in the morning and was promptly taken offline by the hosting provider to prevent further tampering. A specialised cyber team has been assigned to ascertain whether any data were accessed or exfiltrated. The department said it would lodge a formal complaint with the Cyber Police to initiate a criminal investigation.
The Kerala State IT Mission operates several central state portals and e‑governance programmes; the GAD said restoration of the website will proceed only after security checks are completed and vulnerabilities are patched.
Content left on the site
The defacement included a national flag of Pakistan and a text message asserting responsibility. That message, as reported by news agencies, read:
“We are Pakistani hackers. Every day, many websites have been hacked; today is your day.”
Officials said the message also referred to the group as “Team Blackleets”. No official statement indicated the presence of additional claims such as data leaks or threats beyond the visible defacement.
What authorities are doing
- Hosting account suspended to halt further website activity.
- Cybersecurity specialists deployed to examine the compromised server and logs for signs of data access.
- Planned complaint to the Cyber Police to commence a formal investigation.
Officials emphasised that the website would be reactivated only when they were satisfied that it was secure. No timeline for restoration was provided.
Operational impact and public services
The GAD portal provides administrative information and links to various government services. While many essential e‑services are hosted on multiple platforms, a suspension of a departmental site can disrupt public access to notices, orders and contact details. The department has not reported any immediate functional disruption to critical citizen services beyond the GAD portal being inaccessible.
Context: cyber incidents and state websites
State and central government websites in India are occasionally targeted by defacements and probing attacks. Responses typically include taking the compromised site offline, forensic analysis, patching vulnerabilities and, where necessary, informing users or affected parties if personal data may have been exposed. The GAD statement states this is the course Kerala officials are following.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Website defaced | Yes |
| Hosting account | Suspended |
| Data breach confirmed | Under investigation |
| Complaint to Cyber Police | Planned |
Advice for citizens and departments
While officials assess the incident, users who have interacted with the GAD portal recently and submitted sensitive information may consider routine precautions such as monitoring for suspicious communications and changing passwords used for government login services if they are shared across platforms. Departments across the state were urged to review access logs and ensure backups and incident‑response procedures are current.
The Kerala State IT Mission, which manages several government web properties, did not immediately provide additional details beyond the GAD account. The incident highlights continuing concerns about online security for public sector digital infrastructure.
Authorities have not attributed the defacement beyond the message left on the site, and the probe will determine the attackers' origin, methods and any potential impact on data integrity or availability.
The department said it will issue further updates after the cyber team completes its assessment and after filing the complaint with the Cyber Police.
