Cyber Espionage and Hacktivism Escalate in Middle East, Raising Risks for India’s Critical Infrastructure Recent cyberattacks in the Middle East including a historic offensive by Israel against Iran have heightened concerns about potential spillover threats to India’s critical infrastructure. Cybersecurity experts warn that state-backed and hacktivist groups, particularly those aligned with Iran, may target Indian sectors such as power grids, telecom networks, banking systems, and government services in retaliation for regional geopolitical tensions. On Saturday, Israel executed what has been described as the largest cyberattack in history against Iran, causing a near-total internet blackout and disrupting government services, media, energy, and aviation. The attack coincided with the compromise of BadeSaba Calendar, a widely used Iranian prayer app with over 5 million users, which was hijacked to send push notifications urging surrender during joint US-Israeli airstrikes in Tehran. Indian cybersecurity firms, including PwC and CloudSEK, have issued advisories anticipating increased risks of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, phishing campaigns, ransomware, and credential-based intrusions. Experts note that cyber warfare often precedes physical conflict, with misinformation, espionage, and intelligence-gathering serving as early indicators of broader aggression. India has faced similar threats before, including during Operation Sindoor and the 2025 India-Pakistan tensions, when foreign hacker groups such as Moroccan Soldiers, Team R70 (Russia), Lulzsec Arabs, and Islamic Hacker Army targeted government and private sector digital infrastructure. The current escalation in the Middle East suggests a renewed wave of cyber threats, with Indian firms on high alert to mitigate potential disruptions.