Officials say alleged leaked documents are old, unclassified and deliberately manipulated
The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday dismissed reports claiming that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had suffered a major cybersecurity breach, stating that there is no evidence of any active cyberattack, unauthorised network intrusion or ongoing data theft.
The clarification came after several media reports claimed that a suspected threat actor was attempting to sell a large cache of DRDO data on the dark web.
Rejecting the reports, government officials said a detailed investigation had already been carried out by the concerned agencies under the Ministry of Defence.
“It is clarified that there is currently no evidence of any active cyber attack, unauthorised network intrusion, or ongoing data exfiltration,” a senior official said.
Reports termed ‘incorrect and unverified’
The Ministry said reports suggesting a fresh cyber breach involving DRDO were “incorrect and unverified.”
Officials added that most of the data allegedly being circulated is unclassified and does not contain confidential information.
According to the investigation, some of the material being portrayed as sensitive is actually linked to an old data breach dating back to 2020-2022.
Authorities said threat actors had deliberately repackaged and fabricated documents to make them appear recent and classified in an apparent attempt to increase their value on illegal marketplaces.
Documents outdated and no longer relevant
Officials clarified that all documents cited in the alleged leak are outdated, have undergone multiple revisions and no longer reflect DRDO’s current systems or configurations.
Investigators also found that multiple cybercriminal groups were offering the same dataset for sale, indicating that the material was not linked to any recent compromise.
“The data being sold is the same across these threat actors and bears no current relevance to the department and the ministry,” officials said.
Attempt to create panic
The Ministry further alleged that the documents had been deliberately manipulated by threat actors seeking financial gains.
According to officials, the objective was to create public panic, make the data appear authentic and extract larger sums of money from potential buyers on the dark web.
The government reiterated that there is no evidence of any ongoing cyber intrusion affecting DRDO’s systems and that the reports of a fresh breach are not supported by the findings of the investigation.
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