Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 17: The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) has launched a new website www.wbbpe.org.pl after the hackers carried out a successful cyberattack on the government server which hosted its original website www.wbbpe.org on Wednesday.
The defacement came to light when the board received several complaints from the students and parents regarding the webpage showing HTTP error 503.2 and service unavailable on March 15.
Dr. RC Bagchi, secretary, WBBPE said, “The WBBPE’s official government website has been hacked in a successful cyberattack by the hackers. Since March 15, students and parents were unable to access our official website due to the cyber attack. However, the government has launched a new website www.wbbpe.org.pl to facilitate the students and parents for accessing vital information from the board.”
In 2020-21, India had a total of 11,58,208 cyber security incidents. According to a study from the Central Government, cyber security attacks grew to 12,13,784 by October 2021. In the last two years, about 87,050 cyber security incidents were directed at government organisations.
Data security is becoming increasingly important, particularly for governments that are more exposed to cyber-attacks. And, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, security experts have warned that cyber-attacks will only become more prevalent.
Dr. Bagchi added, “We are seeking expert advice for securing our new official website from further cyber-attacks. Still, the hackers are anonymous and they may have stolen the important data.”
Vijay Singh