• Source:JND
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Karnataka News: Karnataka police have busted a gang that hacked into the Unified University and College Management System (UUCMS) portal of Bengaluru North University, manipulating the marks of over 60 failed students. The operation was led by the Cyber Crime & Narcotics Control Police Station (CEN) in Kolar district.

The investigation began following a complaint from the university's registrar, leading to the arrest of three individuals identified as Girish, Sandesh and Surya. Girish and Sandesh are trustees of MNG Pre-University College and Smart Degree College in Kolar, while Surya is a student at one of these institutions. Authorities have frozen their bank accounts and believe additional suspects may be involved in the scam.

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The UUCMS portal, managed by the Karnataka Higher Education Department, is designed to centralise operations for higher education institutions, handling tasks such as admissions, examinations, degree awards and attendance records.

According to a Money Control report, the accused gained access to the portal by misusing the login credentials of Thippeswamy, the university's registrar. They charged students between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 to alter their examination results. The scam was exposed when one of the suspects was apprehended while attempting to collect money from a student in Vijayapura, Bengaluru Rural district. During questioning, he confessed to the operation.

Further inquiries revealed that the gang exploited weaknesses in the UUCMS website, resetting passwords to access records of students who had failed in various degree programmes affiliated with Bengaluru North University. The fraudsters contacted these students, accepting payments through UPI transfers and cash for changing their marks.

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Niranjana, Chancellor of Bengaluru North University, stated that the university has requested police information regarding the students who benefited from the fraudulent marks. "Once we receive the police report, we will withhold the degrees of these students," she noted.

Karnataka's Minister of Higher Education, MC Sudhakar, remarked the seriousness of the hacking incident, announcing that a thorough investigation would be conducted and measures would be taken to enhance the security of the portal and protect student data.