"A virus ate my exam results"
The West Bengal Education Minister, Kanti Biswas, has blamed a
computer virus for students receiving incorrect marks in Higher
Secondary examinations this week.
Biswas told the State Assembly in Calcutta that an unnamed virus
attacked computer systems earlier this year, resulting in a number
of errors on mark sheets. 19 separate cases of irregularities in
marking were discovered, and blamed on virus infection.
According to media reports in the Indian press, opposition
politicians had called for resignations as this is not the first
time Higher Secondary examination results have been found to be in
error.
Biswas told the State Assembly that he regretted the faults in
the examination system and announced that there would be a full
review of the marking process next year to avoid similar problems
in the future.
"Saying 'a virus ate my exam results' is no excuse. No computer
is immune from virus attack, so all users should take steps to
ensure their PCs are protected against the latest viruses," said
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus.
"But let's not forget that the real villains of this story are the
people who wrote the viruses in the first place. Virus writers
should think twice before unleashing their malicious code. They are
putting the future educational and career prospects of peers and
schoolmates at risk - not to mention their own."
Earlier this year viruses were also responsible for disrupting
the counting of
votes in a US election, and embarrassed a government data security
agency.
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