Operation Sindoor is a sophisticated, multi-faceted cyber campaign primarily targeting critical sectors within India, orchestrated by the Pakistan-aligned Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group APT36 in conjunction with hacktivist collaborators. This campaign represents a hybrid warfare approach, combining state-sponsored cyber espionage with hacktivist-driven disruptive activities. The initial access vector predominantly involved spear phishing (MITRE ATT&CK T1566.001), leveraging targeted emails to infiltrate high-value organizations. Once inside, APT36 deployed the Ares Remote Access Trojan (RAT), a stealthy malware tool designed for persistent cyber espionage, enabling data exfiltration and covert surveillance. The campaign also utilized living-off-the-land binaries (T1218) and scheduled task abuse (T1053.005) to evade detection and maintain persistence within compromised environments. Parallel to espionage efforts, hacktivist actors conducted disruptive operations including distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and website defacements, amplifying operational impact and undermining public trust. The targeted sectors—defense, government IT, healthcare, telecommunications, and education—are critical to national security and public welfare, highlighting the strategic intent behind the campaign. The infrastructure supporting the operation includes multiple malicious domains such as fogomyart.com and nationaldefencebackup.xyz, which serve as command and control servers or phishing platforms. Although no known exploits in the wild have been reported, the campaign’s blend of espionage and hacktivism illustrates an evolution in cyber conflict tactics, emphasizing both intelligence gathering and public disruption. This operation has significantly impacted India’s cybersecurity posture and eroded public confidence in digital services.

For European organizations, the direct operational impact of Operation Sindoor is currently limited due to its geographic and sectoral focus on India. However, the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by APT36—such as spear phishing, use of Ares RAT, living-off-the-land techniques, and scheduled task abuse—are indicative of broader threat trends that European entities must monitor. European defense, government, healthcare, telecommunications, and education sectors could face similar threats if adversaries adapt these methods to target their infrastructure. The campaign underscores the increasing risk of hybrid cyber warfare tactics that combine espionage with disruptive attacks, which could erode trust in both public and private digital services across Europe. Additionally, organizations with strategic partnerships or operational ties to Indian entities may face indirect risks, including supply chain compromises or spillover effects from shared infrastructure or data. The use of hacktivist-driven DDoS and defacements also signals a potential for reputational damage and service disruption in European contexts if similar campaigns emerge. Overall, Operation Sindoor serves as a warning for European organizations to enhance their detection and response capabilities against sophisticated, multi-vector cyber threats.

European organizations should implement targeted defenses against spear phishing by deploying advanced email security solutions that incorporate behavioral analysis, machine learning, and threat intelligence feeds to detect indicators associated with APT36, including the identified malicious domains. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools should be configured to monitor for suspicious activities such as the execution of living-off-the-land binaries (T1218), scheduled task manipulations (T1053.005), and anomalous script execution. Network segmentation and strict access controls are essential to limit lateral movement in the event of compromise. Regular threat hunting exercises should focus on detecting Ares RAT signatures and unusual outbound communications to domains similar to those identified in this campaign. Incident response plans must be updated to address combined espionage and disruptive attack scenarios, ensuring readiness for data exfiltration and service disruption. Given the hacktivist use of DDoS attacks, deploying robust DDoS mitigation services and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) is critical to maintaining service availability. Collaboration with national cybersecurity centers and participation in information sharing initiatives focused on APT36 and Operation Sindoor indicators will enhance collective defense. Finally, user awareness training should be tailored to recognize spear phishing attempts that exploit geopolitical or sector-specific themes relevant to this campaign, improving organizational resilience against social engineering.