Cyberattack claim on Punjab Forensic Science Agency surfaces

A major cyberattack on the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) has reportedly surfaced, with a hacker group calling itself “BEAST” claiming that it breached the agency’s system and accessed nearly 900GB of data, 24NewsHD TV reported on Saturday. 

According to details posted on a foreign website, the group claimed to have infiltrated PFSA’s system on 10 November 2025, listing the agency’s official domain as the targeted institution.

The alleged breach reportedly included unauthorized access to forensic reports, departmental files, and other sensitive records.

However, the PFSA has strongly rejected the claim of any successful data breach.

The agency confirmed that an attempted foreign cyberattack occurred.

However, it was effectively neutralized in time through coordinated efforts of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and PFSA’s internal teams.

A PFSA spokesperson said that technical teams successfully blocked the data encryption attack, ensuring that all agency records, reports, and internal systems remained fully secure.

The spokesperson added that a comprehensive data-protection plan was already in place, and all necessary defence measures had been implemented promptly and effectively.  

The agency maintains that no data was compromised, and the attempted intrusion was thwarted before any damage could occur.

Reporter: Ali Ramay