Pakistani-Linked Hacker Group Targets Indian Government

Pakistani-Linked Hacker Group Targets Indian Government

A cyber-espionage campaign aimed at Indian government entities running Linux systems has been uncovered by security researchers.

The activity, attributed by Sekoia.io to the Pakistan-based group TransparentTribe (also known as APT36), involves a new remote access tool (RAT) called “DeskRAT” and reflects an evolution in the group’s tactics.

According to Sekoia.io’s new report, published today, the campaign began in June 2025 and primarily targeted systems running the Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS) Linux distribution endorsed by the Indian government.

Inside the Attack Chain

Researchers found that phishing emails were used to deliver malicious ZIP archives containing deceptive documents referencing Indian defense matters and regional unrest.

Unlike earlier TransparentTribe operations that relied on legitimate cloud storage services such as Google Drive, this campaign used dedicated staging servers to distribute malware.

Once opened, the infected file executed a Bash command sequence that downloaded, decoded and ran a binary payload before displaying a decoy PDF to the user.

The final payload, DeskRAT, is a Golang-based remote access Trojan capable of:

  • Establishing command-and-control (C2) communications via WebSocket

  • Uploading and executing files remotely

  • Collecting sensitive files under 100MB

  • Maintaining persistence through multiple Linux-specific techniques

Researchers noted that the malware’s code included functions suggesting possible use of large language models (LLMs) in its development.

Read more on TransparentTribe’s past operations: Hacktivist Attacks on India Overstated Amid APT36 Espionage Threat

The operation coincided with protests in Ladakh and New Delhi in August and September 2025, which researchers believe were used as lures. Decoy PDFs referenced real defense-related communications and government directives, increasing the likelihood of successful phishing attempts.

Strategic Motives and Ongoing Risks

TransparentTribe, active since at least 2013, is known to conduct espionage aligned with Pakistan’s military and strategic objectives. Analysts assess with high confidence that this campaign seeks to collect intelligence from Indian military and government networks during periods of political tension.

The researchers also observed a new, sophisticated command interface used by operators to manage compromised systems. Its dashboard allows real-time monitoring, file collection and remote access across infected hosts.

The findings suggest a continued focus on Linux environments and a trend toward purpose-built malware and infrastructure.

“[Additionally,] the widespread use of LLMs by attackers compresses malware development cycles, such as RATs and C2, creating a time imbalance where attackers can deploy faster than researchers can manually reverse and detect,” the Sekoia team warned.

“It’s a clear indication that the defender needs to adapt and leverage LLM for those tasks.”

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