Pak hacker group claims to have breached defence sites

The website of Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), a defence public sector undertaking that manufactures tanks and armoured vehicles, was taken down on Monday for a thorough audit after a Pakistani hacker group called Pakistan Cyber Force claimed to have defaced it by posting images of a Pakistani flag and a tank, officials aware of the matter said.

- Rahul Singh

AVNL is one of the seven new defence companies carved out of the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board four years ago.

"As a precautionary measure, the AVNL website has been taken offline for a thorough and deliberate audit to assess the extent of any potential damage caused by the defacement attempt and to ensure the integrity of the website," said one of the officials, asking not to be named.

The AVNL website wasn't accessible at the time this report was filed. The development comes at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan have peaked in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike.