CHENNAI: In the wake of the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Tamil Nadu police's cybercrime wing has warned of a recent surge in malicious content spreading rapidly through WhatsApp, e-mail, and social media platforms which includes deceptive videos, images, '.exe/.apk' files and phishing links disguised as news or updates related to the ongoing Indo-Pak conflict.

“There is an elevated risk of cyber-attacks, particularly from state-sponsored advanced persistent threats known for targeting Indian government agencies, military personnel, and critical infrastructure. This group uses sophisticated tactics such as phishing emails, fake login pages, and malicious attachments to gain unauthorised access to sensitive information. Advisories regarding these threats have already been issued to all government departments in the State,” an official release stated.

Police said that the cyber fraudsters are exploiting heightened public interest and tension around the situation to target unsuspecting individuals. These cybercriminals are circulating malicious content under the pretext of exclusive updates, conflict-related visuals, or leaked footage, with many of these materials carrying malware, spyware, or links to phishing websites.

The malware is disguised as videos or images titled 'Dance of the Hillary', ‘Army-Job-Application-Form.pdf’, and executable file 'tasksche.exe'.

Once these malicious links/ image/.exe/.apk files are downloaded, malware is installed in the device which can result in compromising the device, bank accounts, or social media accounts, etc getting hacked.

Police have warned the public to not open unknown videos or image files, even if forwarded by someone they trust, and have appealed to the public to disable "media auto-download" in WhatsApp settings.