New Delhi | The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has claimed that its online portal for answer sheet verification and re-evaluation came under large-scale cyberattack attempts on Tuesday, coinciding with the launch of this year’s post-result review process.
According to the board, while thousands of students were accessing the portal to submit requests related to their evaluated answer books, malicious actors allegedly attempted to disrupt services through coordinated cyber activities.
FCRF’s Flagship Cyber Law Certification Returns With a New Four-Week Cohort
In a statement posted on social media platform X, CBSE said the most recent incident involved an attempted Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. The board claimed that nearly 1.5 million hits were recorded on the portal within just two minutes, creating unusual traffic pressure on the system. It further stated that security mechanisms detected more than 100,000 unauthorized file access attempts during the same period.
CBSE said these activities appeared to be aimed at disrupting normal portal operations and affecting service availability. However, the board did not disclose who may have been behind the alleged attacks and did not provide evidence linking the activity to any specific group or individual. It also stopped short of confirming any data breach, data theft, or unauthorized access to sensitive student information.
The development comes at a critical time, as CBSE has opened the online facility for students who have obtained scanned copies of their evaluated answer books and wish to raise concerns regarding the assessment process. Students can use the portal to report discrepancies in answer sheets and apply for re-evaluation of specific responses.
The board noted that several improvements have been introduced based on student feedback. These include extending session time limits and enhancing the user experience to ensure smoother processing of applications. CBSE said the refinements were designed to support large numbers of users accessing the system simultaneously.
The application window for verification and re-evaluation will remain open from June 2 to June 6. CBSE has clarified that no offline applications or requests submitted after the deadline will be entertained. All submissions must be completed through the designated online portal.
To apply, students are required to log in through the official CBSE website using their Aadhaar credentials. The entire process, including application submission and fee payment, has been digitized. The board has advised students to carefully review all subject-related requests before final submission.
According to CBSE, students can report issues such as missing pages, absent supplementary sheets, missing maps or graphs, blurred scans, incorrect answer books being uploaded, or evaluations conducted against a different question paper set. In addition, candidates dissatisfied with the assessment of specific answers may request re-evaluation.
Under the fee structure announced by the board, verification of discrepancies in scanned answer books will cost ₹100 per answer book, while re-evaluation requests will be charged at ₹25 per question. All payments must be made online.
Commenting on the broader cybersecurity implications, a Researcher at Algoritha Security said educational platforms handling examination results, admissions, and re-evaluation processes frequently become attractive targets for cyber attackers due to sudden spikes in user traffic. According to the researcher, attempts to overwhelm systems through massive traffic generation highlight the growing cybersecurity challenges facing the education sector. Strong monitoring mechanisms, traffic filtering, and real-time defense systems are becoming increasingly important for safeguarding critical digital services.
For now, CBSE has urged students not to panic and to continue using the official portal for all re-evaluation-related activities. The board has also advised candidates to closely follow official updates and instructions in the event of any technical issues during the application period.
