• Source:JND
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The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has apprehended 18-year-old Jasim Shahnawaz Ansari from Nadiad, who is believed to have led a series of cyberattacks on Indian government websites. These attacks were carried out in collaboration with several juvenile associates, particularly around the time of Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror incident.

“The accused, a 12th-grade dropout, gained expertise in various programming languages, but his case exemplifies knowledge gone astray, driven not by financial motives but by radicalised ideology. The accused attempted to bring down at least 20 government websites on May 7, the day when Operation Sindoor was launched. Ansari also shared provocative anti-India messages on Telegram, including statements like, ‘India may have initiated it, but we will conclude it,’” said Virjit Parmar, deputy superintendent of police, Gujarat ATS, in a statement to Hindustan Times.

Authorities registered a case against Ansari on May 19 under Sections 66(F) and 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Section 66(F) addresses cyberterrorism and penalises acts that threaten national security or disrupt essential services via digital means. Section 43 deals with unauthorised access and damage to computer systems.

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According to a second official, the arrest is part of broader efforts by national and state-level security agencies to monitor digital platforms including the dark web for anti-national activity, especially after the launch of Operation Sindoor. The group led by Ansari is suspected of attacking over 50 central and state government websites.

Investigations by the Gujarat ATS revealed that Ansari, along with other juveniles, had formed a Telegram group called Anonsec. Through this group, they launched Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks: a method that floods websites with traffic, causing disruptions and making them unreachable to legitimate users. These types of attacks can severely impact online services, inflict financial losses, and tarnish an organisation’s public image.

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The ATS found that the group deliberately targeted critical sectors such as defence, finance, aviation, urban development, and state government portals. They documented their attacks by taking screenshots, which they then shared in the Telegram group alongside inflammatory content against India.

While Ansari is now in custody, officials have not revealed the total number of juveniles involved. However, they confirmed that the minors will be dealt with under the Juvenile Justice Act.

“The suspects learned Python programming language and used tools like Pydroid and Termux to execute their attacks. They cloned DDoS attack tools from GitHub and modified them to target specific websites,” an official added.

The investigation confirmed that Ansari and his group acquired their hacking knowledge primarily through YouTube tutorials and open-source tools from GitHub. They used applications like TERMUX and PYDROID3 to execute DDoS attacks, aiming to overwhelm servers and cripple online infrastructure. These breaches not only disrupt services but also pose significant financial and reputational risks.

After carrying out these cyberattacks, the group posted screenshots on Telegram with provocative messages like “Several Government sites of India has been touch by AnonSec..!” and “Hi, India we just took down your financial shield and servers.”