A massive cyber security attack has disrupted voting in Khalistan Referendum within 30 minutes of the start of the process in Australian city of Brisbane on Sunday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The voting started at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre with the Sikh holy prayers at sharp 9am local time. The voting continued smoothly for the first 30 minutes but then the whole electronic system crashed as the cyber-attack was launched.

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Organisers Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) said the attack was well planned and well-coordinated. They said the Indian government agencies were behind the cyberattack. They said that this was not the first time that the Sikhs’ Khalistan Referendum voting was attacked. One of the organisers said that attempts were made previously as well but the IT team and security experts of the SFJ were able to restore the system back up.

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On Sunday as the system was disrupted, thousands of people waited in queues outside for the system to start operating again. The online portal especially built for safe voting on the question of “Secession of India from Punjab” went down and a message read on the system: “Your connection is not private. Attackers might be trying to steal your information from the website (for example passwords, messages or cards).”

Inside the vast hall, dozens of policemen stood in line to provide security to the voters. Outside the hall over 50 policemen patrolled the streets as there were fears of disruptions from the local Hindutva groups who had announced a demonstration outside the centre.

The cyberattack is part of the sustained campaign by the Indian govt to halt the Khalistan Referendum voting in the western countries which have seen thousands of Sikhs coming out to show their support for the creation of Khalistan.

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Qihoo360 Technology, a Beijing-based major software company released a cyber-security report asserting that in India Sikhs with the religious and political inclination and Khalistan Referendum 2020 websites and mobile apps are under attack from Indian cyber mercenary group known as “APT C-35”.

APT C-35 Indian mercenaries have launched several phishing websites and mobile apps relating to Referendum 2020 as bait to target pro Khalistan Sikhs in India. According to the report from the Qihoo 360 Core Security team, “there’s an ongoing phishing and spyware distribution campaign targeting Sikhs in India. There are approximately 30 million Sikhs, followers of a 15th-century monotheistic religion, and most of them (83%) live in Punjab, India”. 

 “After Canadian Blackberry’s report, Chinese Security Firm has also confirmed that every Sikh with a religious or political inclination is a target of cyber terrorism in Modi’s India” stated Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel to SFJ who had sent a communique to Chinese authorities seeking support for Khalistan Referendum.

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Tensions have risen here ahead of Khalistan Referendum voting on 19th March as dozens of pro-Khalistan Sikhs rounded up and forced closure of India’s honorary consulate in Brisbane and the Australian government issued an updated travel advisory advising its citizens against travelling to India due to a “high risk of violence” in certain states, including Punjab.

Few days before the March 19 voting organized by pro-Khalistan secessionist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), the Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese the recent alleged incidents of attacks on temples in Australia as well as pro-Khalistani activities in that country.

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It’s understood that the Indian PM Modi raised the issue with the Australian govt after over 50000 Sikhs turned up to vote for Khalistan Referendum in Melbourne for the first phase of Referendum at the end of January this year. Clashes broke out on streets between Sikhs and Hindu groups outside the voting centre and several arrests were made.

Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has said that Sikhs have come under attack from hardline Hindutva supporters in Australia and they were captured on videos defacing Khalistan Banners hanged at the Sikh temples.

On March 15, the Consulate of India located on Swann Road in Brisbane was forced to close down after pro-Khalistan supporters blockaded the entry, raising slogans for justice. Queensland Police have said the pro Khalistan and Anti-India protest was lawful and peaceful. MEA spokesperson Bagchi in his media talk confirmed that a group of Sikhs protestors had entered the consulate and the work was halted. Bagchi said India has taken up the issue with the Australian authorities.