CBSE foils 3.8-million-packet DoS attack as verification portal crosses 56,000 applications

Amid ongoing criticism over marking discrepancies and technical glitches in CBSE's Online Service Management (OSM) portal, the board has revealed that it successfully thwarted a fresh cyberattack targeting its website on Wednesday.

In a post on X, CBSE Headquarters said its systems blocked a 3.8-million-packet denial-of-service (DoS) attack earlier in the day, preventing any disruption to online services.

The board reassured students and stakeholders that its technical teams are actively monitoring system performance and implementing improvements to ensure a smoother, faster, and more seamless user experience. CBSE added that efforts are underway to strengthen the platform's resilience while maintaining uninterrupted access to online services.

The post also noted that the portal had received more than 56,000 applications for verification and re-evaluation as of 9:30 PM on Wednesday.

More from Tech

Prior to the latest attack, CBSE had revealed that its portal was targeted by a cyberattack that generated 1.2 million hits within two minutes and more than one lakh attempts at unauthorized file access.

The controversy regarding the result began when CBSE introduced a new On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, replacing the traditional manual evaluation process with digital assessment. Soon after the Class 12 results were announced, many students alleged that the new system had resulted in unexpectedly low scores. Complaints quickly spread across social media, turning the OSM system into a major topic of discussion.

The issue escalated further when a student and ethical hacker highlighted alleged vulnerabilities in the OSM portal. The hacker pointed to concerns including weak password security and flaws in the OTP authentication system. Initially, CBSE stated that the website referenced in social media posts was merely a testing portal and not the actual platform used for evaluating answer sheets.

Days later, however, CBSE acknowledged the reported vulnerabilities. The board said cybersecurity experts from various government agencies and IITs had been deployed to strengthen the system's security infrastructure.

Concerns among students were further amplified by glitches on the re-evaluation portal, which was flooded with requests following the controversy. Due to a technical error, some students reported seeing rechecking fees ranging from Rs 69,420 to Rs 8,000, causing additional confusion and anxiety.

On May 29, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured students and parents that issues affecting the OSM system would be addressed. Meanwhile, CBSE maintained that concerns over score discrepancies are raised every year following the declaration of results, despite some students pointing to their comparatively higher scores in competitive examinations such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

What is a Denial-of-Service Attack?

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is a type of cyberattack that overwhelms a system, application, or network with excessive traffic or resource requests, rendering it unavailable to legitimate users. The objective is to disrupt normal operations without necessarily breaching the system's security defenses.

These attacks work by exhausting the available resources of a system, service, or network through massive volumes of requests or by exploiting operational bottlenecks. In recent years, DoS attacks have evolved into powerful tools used in ransomware campaigns, geopolitical disruptions, and nation-state cyber operations, often serving as a means of signaling intent or causing targeted disruption.