Cyber Crime
Bihar Police Busts SSC Online Recruitment Scam Involving TCS-Administered Exam
BIHAR: Purnea Police, Bihar under supervision of SP Kartikeya K arrested 35 persons, including impersonators and center officials, in connection with the alleged irregularities in ongoing Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) staff and Havaldar (CBIC & CBN) 2024 Tier-I examinations conducted by Staff Selection Commission (SSC) held at the centre since October 12. Arrest was made upon tip-off given by an informer.
A case has been registered under sections 318 (4), 319 (2), 338/336 (3), 340 (2), 61 (2)/111 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 65/66 (C)’66 (D) of IT Act 2000 and sections 9/10/11 of Public Exam Prevention of Unfair means Act, 2024 and all the 35 persons have sent to judicial custody.
Case Brief:
- Examination: SSC MTS Exam
- Center Name: Purnia Digital Examination Center, Purnia, Bihar
- Mode of Cheating : Impersonation (solvers), Biometric Authentication bypass.
- Biometric Authentication Bypass: To bypass the mandatory biometric authentication by candidates, the candidates are made to stay in a building adjoining exam center and through network connectivity and a separate biometric device, biometric authentication is conducted. This is done in collusion with center head.
- Deal Rate : About 10 Lakh per candidate (as per sources)
- Seizure: 12 blank cheques, 22 ATM cards, 52 Aadhaar cards, 40 Admit cards, 3 laptops, 1 printer, 18 mobile phones, 1 Wi-Fi Access Point, DVR, UPS, monitor, CPU-1 each, Original documents of 7 students, Cash 4, 20, 400, (2) Two Wheeler, (2) Four Wheeler.
The Solution
In recent years, some significant online exams conducted by TCS through its digital assessment platform, TCS iON, have faced security challenges. One notable incident involved the JEE Mains exam, where vulnerabilities in the system were reportedly exploited, leading to a paper leak and unauthorized remote access to the examination environment. The breach prompted an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), highlighting concerns about the integrity of the online testing process. This incident led to the arrest of several individuals linked to coaching centers, suspected of tampering with the testing setup to facilitate cheating.
These security incidents underline the ongoing challenges in securing large-scale online examinations, emphasizing the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in the educational assessment domain.
Online examination cheating causes multi-dimensional impact to the system. One is that non-competent candidates joins Government which is a permanent collateral damage to the system.
Also it discourages and demotivates hard working and honest aspirants. There is an urgent need to reform examination by the authorities.
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One of long term solution is that Government should look upon establishing its own exam centers rather than outsourcing it to vendors / third party.
A separate cadre overlooking this may be constituted to strengthen online examination infrastructure of all Center / State examinations.
Raid Team:
Shri Anurag Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Cyber Crime and Police Inspector Ajay Kumar, Station House Officer, Sadar Police Station along with his team successfully carried out this operation.
Source: Social Media.