CBSE re-evaluation portal faces cyberattack, records 1.5 million hits in two minutes

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday (June 2) said that its re-evaluation and verification portal faced a cyber-attack resulting in nearly 1.5 million hits within just two minutes. Terming it a “denial-of-service (DoS) attack”, it further stated that despite such disruption, the portal continued to function smoothly from 7 am.

Attack attempts recorded

Elaborating further, the CBSE, in a post on X, stated that over 1 lakh attempts to gain unauthorised access to files hosted on the system were also recorded.

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“While thousands of students accessed the CBSE re-evaluation portal today, malicious actors attempted to disrupt services through a barrage of cyberattacks,” stated the CBSE.

“Most recent being a denial-of-service attack attempt causing 1.5 million hits on the portal within a matter of 2 minutes and more than 1 lakh attempts of unauthorised file access,” it added.

Portal handles heavy traffic

However, the board said that despite the attack, the portal continued to handle heavy traffic smoothly, adding that it was supporting over 8,000 users simultaneously and processed over 18,000 successful re-evaluation and verification submissions by 3 pm.

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“The CBSE revaluation portal is currently supporting over 8,000 concurrent users. As of 3:00 PM today, more than 16,000 students have successfully completed their submissions,” stated the CBSE.

Students get longer sessions

It further stated that, based on the feedback from students, the platform has been improved with features such as extending session time limits.

“Based on student feedback, we have further refined the platform, including extending session time limits to make the process more convenient and seamless,” stated the CBSE.

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“Our teams remain vigilant and responsive to ensure our dearest students are facilitated in all ways possible,” it added.

The portal was eventually made operational on Tuesday after being postponed on multiple occasions. It was originally scheduled to become accessible to students on May 29.

However, the CBSE later pushed back its launch to June 1, stating that the additional time was required to ensure a transparent and error-free process.

Portal launch and access

Students seeking to apply for verification of marks or re-evaluation can access the facility through the official CBSE website. The direct link to the portal has also been made available by the board.

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The reopening of the re-evaluation portal comes amid the continuing controversy surrounding the board's on-screen marking (OSM) system.

OSM controversy continues

Amid concerns raised over the functioning of the OSM portal, the Ministry of Education has sought a detailed report from the CBSE. The ministry has also sought information regarding the contract awarded to Hyderabad-based Coempt EduTeck.

Earlier in the day, a parliamentary committee was briefed on issues related to the on-screen marking portal. The panel also discussed matters concerning the implementation of the three-language policy for students of Classes 9 and 10.