Cyberattack hits CBSE re-evaluation portal
50 students allegedly exploit CBSE portal breach
New Delhi | Desk: A major cyberattack has targeted the payment gateway of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) re-evaluation portal. According to government sources, exploiting this "malicious attack," approximately 50 students gained unauthorized access to the portal and tampered with the system.
Due to this technical glitch, significant fluctuations were observed in fee payments on the portal. In some instances, the amount payable dropped to a mere ₹1, while in others, it surged to between ₹67,000 and ₹68,000.
Sources suggest that this manipulation was carried out either for amusement or with malicious intent. The issue arose from a glitch in the integration of the HDFC payment gateway while the portal was live a malfunction that also caused the portal to remain non-functional for a period.
Following this security breach, the government immediately went into "action mode." Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan held a high-level meeting regarding this issue with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. To bolster the portal's security and infrastructure, four of the country's major public sector banks State Bank of India (SBI), Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra have now been integrated as additional payment gateways.
To ensure the system is completely secure and operates smoothly, experts from IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, and the Digital Infrastructure Corporation of India are conducting a meticulous examination of the coding and technical vulnerabilities.
Additionally, to resolve previous issues regarding storage and capacity, the entire CBSE portal has been migrated to "Amazon Web Services" (AWS). A successful test run of the new system has also been completed to ensure that students do not face any further difficulties. (Symbolic Photo)
