Every month, nearly 300,000 people in Bangladesh access online land mutation services. However, citizens attempting to use the e-mutation service on Saturday found it unavailable. The government's land service website, land.gov.bd, displayed a notice stating that the site was undergoing maintenance as part of an emergency cyber alert issued by BGD e-Gov CIRT, prompting the temporary suspension of land services.
According to sources within BGD e-Gov CIRT, the agency responsible for overseeing the government's cybersecurity, the alert was issued in response to a newly discovered global security vulnerability in PHP. This security flaw has triggered website shutdowns worldwide. In Bangladesh, several websites have also been kept offline proactively. Alongside the land service portal, affected platforms include the website of Bangladesh Bank, several public and private commercial banks, private hospitals, and various other institutions.
Institutions have temporarily taken their websites offline to upgrade their security infrastructure. However, CIRT sources revealed they have received information confirming that at least one hospital's website has already been compromised. Meanwhile, none of the affected institutions are publicly admitting that their shutdowns are linked to the PHP vulnerability, making it difficult to ascertain the exact number of organizations currently facing risks in Bangladesh.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Dr. B. M. Mainul Hossain, a professor at the Institute of Information Technology (IIT) at the University of Dhaka, remarked, "Imagine a scenario where someone takes control of the land service server and alters land records, or seizes control of the income tax website and deletes all stored data. What kind of catastrophic situation would that create?"
When asked whether the land services website was specifically shut down due to the PHP vulnerability, Asif Mahmud, Deputy Project Director of the Land Management Automation Project, told Chitra Post that it was part of regular maintenance.
