2025's biggest cyberattacks: From India's power grid to JLR
What's the story
Cyberattacks surged in 2025, with India alone witnessing over 265 million incidents, according to Quick Heal Technologies' India Cyber Threat Report, 2026. The year was marked by major attacks on government websites, power grids, and telecom networks. Global breaches also targeted carmakers, airports, tech firms, and consumer platforms. Let's take a look at the major cyber incidents in India and around the world last year.
Military retaliation
Operation Sindoor triggers wave of cyberattacks
In May 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, a major military strike against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation was in retaliation for the brutal Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 innocent civilians were killed. However, it also triggered a wave of cyberattacks targeting Indian government and critical infrastructure systems.
Targeted attacks
Cyberattacks on government websites and power grid
Soon after Operation Sindoor, the President's website was hit by a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack that lasted nearly 19 hours. At the same time, authorities reported some 200,000 cyberattacks on the national power grid. These attacks targeted both IT and operational technology (OT) systems, possibly probing for vulnerabilities during military operations. Hacktivist groups aligned with Pakistan launched multiple DDoS attacks and defaced public services websites, tax portals, education sites, and other government platforms.
Service disruptions
DDoS attacks disrupt BSNL and Power Grid Corporation
On May 2, the Power Grid Corporation of India suffered a DDoS attack that lasted over 31 minutes. The attack affected online services like bill payments, fault reporting, and customer queries. Similarly, BSNL's main website was hit by two back-to-back DDoS attacks on April 25-26. The attacks rendered the site inaccessible for several days and disrupted service requests and customer support.
International incidents
Global cyberattacks in 2025: A closer look
June 2025 witnessed the biggest credential leak ever, with over 16 billion login credentials stolen from Apple, Facebook, Google, GitHub, Telegram, and government portals. The "Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters" group attacked Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on September 2. The attack halted production at factories in the UK and abroad for nearly six weeks and caused an estimated £2 billion loss.
Data exposure
Volkswagen data breach and airport systems attack
In January 2025, personal data of around 800,000 electric-vehicle users across Volkswagen, Audi, and SKODA was exposed. The breach included names, contact details, vehicle locations, and driving patterns. In September, Collins Aerospace suffered a cyberattack that affected major European airports, including London's Heathrow. Staff had to switch to manual processes resulting in long queues and hundreds of cancellations.
Business disruption
Asahi Group cyberattack and ChatGPT-related Mixpanel breach
Japan's largest brewer, Asahi Group, suffered a cyberattack in late September that caused a "systems failure," halting order processing and shipments. In November, Mixpanel, which OpenAI used to track user interactions, was hacked. Attackers stole profile data such as names, email addresses, organization IDs, location details, browser and OS information, and referral websites.