CBSE files complaint over cyberattacks on re-evaluation portal, Pg13

Key Highlights:

• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) filed a complaint with the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit of the Delhi Police regarding cyberattacks on its Post-Result Services Portal.
• A case has been registered under Section 66 and Section 43(F) of the IT Act.
• The attacks involved malicious traffic from multiple IP addresses, aiming to destabilize the platform and deny access.
• The portal, launched on June 2, facilitates re-evaluation and verification for Class 12 students.
• Despite the attacks, CBSE's systems and databases remained secure and uncompromised, with no data breach detected.
• Mitigation efforts involved 24x7 monitoring and support from cybersecurity teams including IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Madras, and CERT-In.

Detailed Insights:

• The CBSE Post-Result Services Portal was subjected to repeated and coordinated cyberattacks over three days after its launch.
• The portal had processed over 56,000 applications for verification and re-evaluation by June 3.
• The attacks posed a risk of public inconvenience and dissatisfaction among lakhs of students across the country.
• The apparent objective of the attackers was to deny access to legitimate users and attempt unauthorized information extraction.
• The IFSO Unit was approached for a detailed probe and appropriate legal action against those responsible for the cyberattacks.
• Continuous monitoring and response mechanisms successfully mitigated the attacks, ensuring the integrity of the system.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Cyberattack: A malicious attempt to disrupt, disable, destroy, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system or network.
• IT Act, 2000: The primary law in India dealing with cybercrime and electronic commerce, providing legal recognition for electronic transactions.
• CERT-In: The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, the national agency for responding to computer security incidents.
• IFSO Unit: The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations Unit of the Delhi Police, specializing in investigating complex cybercrimes.