CBSE Revaluation Portal Hit by Cyberattack, Affecting 50 Students A malicious cyberattack targeted the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) revaluation portal’s payment system, impacting around 50 students, government sources confirmed. The breach, linked to the HDFC Bank payment gateway, caused erratic fee displays ranging from ₹1 to nearly ₹67,000–68,000 due to unauthorized manipulation of the system. The incident occurred shortly after the portal went live, disrupting its functionality. Sources suggested the attack may have been carried out either as a prank or with malicious intent. In response, the CBSE has integrated four additional public sector banks State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra as alternative payment gateways to bolster security. A joint team of experts from IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, and the Digital Infrastructure Corporation of India is currently auditing the system to identify vulnerabilities and enhance its resilience. The portal has since been migrated to Amazon Web Services (AWS) to improve stability and scalability. The issue was addressed in a high-level meeting on May 24, where Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman discussed strengthening the payment infrastructure. The four PSU banks will assist in securing the portal’s integration with the CBSE’s post-exam systems. A test run conducted recently confirmed the updated system’s functionality.

In March 2023, HDFC Bank experienced a significant data breach, compromising the personal and financial information of 600,000 customers. The stolen data encompassed a wide range of sensitive details, including names, birthdates, contact numbers, email addresses, residential addresses, employment data, credit scores, and loan specifics. Following the data leak, numerous customers reported unauthorized transactions from their bank accounts and became targets of phishing attempts. The breach exposed customers to considerable financial risk and identity theft, raising concerns about the bank's cybersecurity measures and the protection of client information. This incident highlights the critical need for enhanced security protocols and vigilance in safeguarding customer data against the evolving tactics of cyber criminals.

Several Indian banks have taken drastic steps in response to a security breach that may have compromised up to 3.25 million debit cards—or 0.5% of the approximately 700 million debit cards that Indian banks have issued. The financial institution is Hitachi Payment Services, a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. that oversees ATM network processing for Yes Bank Ltd., according to banking industry insiders. After that, the State Bank of India quickly disabled a few clients' debit cards, and it was currently replacing those cards to stop fraud. The top three private sector lenders, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank, each stated in separate announcements that there may have been card account breaches following usage at non-bank ATMs. Additionally, certain consumers' debit cards are being reissued by Standard Chartered's Indian division.