State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, has revealed alarming statistics about cyber attacks in Bangladesh. In a press briefing on Tuesday at the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) conference room in Dhaka’s Agargaon, he reported that over 50,000 cyber attacks have been attempted in the past ten days.
The hackers have targeted eight government websites in a bid to seize control of them amidst the ongoing unrest surrounding the quota reform movement. Minister Palak clarified that while these attempts were made repeatedly, no government website was completely hacked, nor was any data stolen from these sites.
Palak explained that the attacks involved diverting the DNS system. When users tried to browse certain websites, they were redirected to a different site showing a defaced front page with a message claiming the original site had been hacked.
In response to a question about whether the cyber attacks had increased due to the quota reform movement, the Minister acknowledged that cyber attacks are a constant threat. Hackers continuously attempt to breach websites under national security. He added that banks and financial institutions are also frequent targets, with hackers aiming to steal funds. However, he admitted that the frequency of cyber attacks had indeed risen during the recent unrest.
Palak on Internet Slowdown
Following the violence sparked by the quota reform protests, Bangladesh experienced an internet shutdown. Although internet services have been gradually restored, social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Instagram remain blocked by the government. As a result, users have increasingly turned to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to access these platforms.
Minister Palak noted that the surge in VPN usage has caused a significant slowdown in internet speed. Technical experts have reported a nearly 5,000% increase in VPN usage in recent times. Despite these issues, Palak assured that the government has not imposed any restrictions on internet speed. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has left the internet fully open, with no obstacles or guidelines in place to limit its speed.
The briefing was attended by several key figures, including the Secretary of the Telecommunications Division, Md. Mushfiqur Rahman, the Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center, Major General Ziaul Ahsan, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Computer Council, Ranajit Kumar, the President of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB), Imdadul Haque, and the Director General of the National Cyber Security Agency, Abu Sayed Md. Kamruzzaman.
Conclusion
The recent surge in cyber attacks and the increase in VPN usage highlight the challenges faced by Bangladesh in maintaining cybersecurity and stable internet services. The government’s efforts to address these issues are ongoing, as they work to protect vital infrastructure and ensure the security of their digital landscape.
