Cyber attack on server delays Mumbai university’s IDOL course exams

For the second day in a row, exams for the distance education wing of the University of Mumbai had to be postponed. In a statement released by the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL), authorities explained that the technical glitches were a result of a cyberattack on the examination server.

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Close to 9,000 students of IDOL had their third-year Bachelor of Commerce and Arts exams scheduled, however, more than 90% could not access the exam link on Tuesday.

After receiving flak from students, many of whom also gathered at the university’s Kalina campus on Tuesday evening, IDOL released a statement postponing the day’s exam. It added that due to the trouble with the examination server, they have postponed the exams scheduled to take place on Wednesday as well.

“I had logged on the exam app 15 minutes before the paper was scheduled to begin, but I received an error message instead. An hour after logging in also the question paper was not available,” said a Commerce student.

In a statement released on Tuesday evening, examination authorities said the error was due to technical glitch.

“We are in touch with the software company and they are still trying to find out the exact reason behind this error. We are sure the remaining papers will be conducted smoothly,” said Vinod Malale, deputy registrar (public relations). MU this year has opted for a Singapore-based software company called LittleMORE Innovation Labs to conduct exams online.

This same problem occurred on Saturday as well, when IDOL conducted its first paper and several students ended up missing the exam due to similar technical glitches. The same exams have now been rescheduled to the second week of October. For exams postponed on October 6, a rescheduled timetable is yet to be announced.

By Tuesday evening, members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) objected to the continued problems faced by students during the examination and demanded that all exams be postponed until the technical glitches resolved.

“Firstly, the university should postpone all IDOL exams until the software problem is solved. The varsity should also consider terminating services of the software company for creating so much confusion and anxiety among the student community,” said a statement released by MNS.