Punjab cops grope in dark over Central University question bank hack case

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 8

Two months have gone by, but the police probing the Central University, Punjab (CUP), Bathinda, question bank hacking case have failed to get any headway. Switzerland-based Proton Mail, a highly sophisticated cyber platform, has not shared any information with the police.

An e-mail was sent to the then Vice-Chancellor, RK Kohli, wherein it was mentioned that the question bank used by the university to conduct online exams was hacked. The email was sent from ProtonMail, which is an end-to-end encrypted (identity of the sender is not revealed) and a paid email service. In the mail, a link was also given, which gave access to all the questions. The system was password enabled, but was compromised, after which the university cancelled 13 exams of various subjects.

Bathinda Deputy Superintendent of Police Ashwant Singh, Investigating Officer, said, “Proton Mail has not shared details about the identity of the hacker, but we will talk to senior officials. We will try to get more details about it in coming days.”

The police have asked the Proton Mail to share the information pertaining to the Internet Protocol (IP) address from where the email was sent, but so far it has failed to get any information.

In the wake of Covid-19, for the convenience of students, the CUP had opted for online exams, but hackers sensed an opportunity and attacked the cyber security system of the university, used to conduct the examination, and accessed the question bank.

Earlier, the university administration had zeroed on a group of around 10 students from a particular state who scored exceptionally well in the semester exams conducted on the first three days.

CUP Registrar Kanwar Pal Singh Mundra could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.