‘Cyber attack’ halts Mumbai University’s IDOL examination

MUMBAI: A ‘no exams schedule’ message left thousands of students in shock when they clicked the exam link sent by Institute of Open and Distance Learning (IDOL) of Mumbai University on Tuesday.

The chaos started on the second day of examinations because of which exams slated for Wednesday has been called off.

The recent fiasco has left Mumbai University in an embarrassing situation. According to sources, the inefficiency of officials and limitation of technology partner led to the attack. Officials said that they should have insisted on a series of security drills.

The new exam format and the cyber attack have ended up as a nightmarish experience for close to 1 lakh candidates. IDOL postponed the final year arts, commerce and science exams with no new dates for the conduct of the exams.

WHAT HAPPENED ON TUESDAY

At the time of examination, many candidates started facing technical glitch. They complained that when they clicked on the exam link sent to them, a message popped-up saying ‘No exams scheduled’.

Around 8,000 TYBA and TYBCom students were scheduled to take their second exam on Tuesday.

The university after a review said that it was a case of cyber attack. Following which a complaint was lodged with Mumbai police cyber cell.

Several university officials blame their edtech partner behind the attack and said it was a result of poor coordination between them.

Mumbai University College Teachers’ Association demanded a high-level inquiry against the software vendor.