ISPs carrying out DDoS attacks to face stern action

Those guilty of such crimes will face severe consequences, warns CA's special assistant for ICT Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb

FE Report | Published: November 01, 2025 21:39:05

The government has moved to take stern action against several internet service providers (ISPs) after receiving credible evidence that some of them organised distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks from abroad to sabotage rival networks and disrupt competition in Bangladesh's internet market.
Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant to the Chief Adviser on posts, telecommunications and ICT, said in a Facebook post on Friday that both the government and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) now possessed proof that certain ISPs deliberately targeted competitors' systems through foreign-based DDoS attacks.
The names of the companies and individuals involved have already been identified.
Those found guilty of orchestrating or facilitating such criminal activities will face severe consequences, he warned.
The authorities are considering revoking their existing licences and barring them from participating in the new licensing process that is being prepared under an updated regulatory framework.
Under Bangladesh's cyber security laws, any unauthorised network intrusion, hacking, or deliberate disruption of service constitutes a serious criminal offence, and the offenders are liable to prosecution.
In a parallel development, a number of ISPs are reportedly facing delays in licence renewal or share-transfer approvals due to large outstanding dues.
These companies are accused of purchasing bandwidth from government and private providers but shifting to other international internet gateway (IIG) or international terrestrial cable (ITC) operators without paying what they owe.
The authorities have decided that no licence renewal will be approved until all arrears are cleared.
Taiyeb also revealed that several firms known for their close links with the previous government had engaged in large-scale financial irregularities, including the issuance of fake or bounced cheques to public entities in the name of bill payment.
He mentioned one such case involving "Amra Network," which allegedly attempted to defraud a state-owned institution through counterfeit transactions amounting to several crores of taka.
Legal proceedings are being prepared against the companies and their owners for these serious financial crimes.
The post further urged all licensed ISPs to immediately strengthen their network protection mechanisms by deploying anti-DDoS setups and load-balancers and by making sufficient investments in cyber security.
Taiyeb warned that no one should protect or conceal the identity of attackers merely because of personal relations. Instead, he encouraged affected operators to unite and pursue legal action, assuring them of the government's full institutional support in combating cyber-enabled offences.
He added that while the BTRC would continue to identify and take action against illegal attackers, service providers must also take responsibility for safeguarding their own infrastructure. "By working together," he said, "we can make Bangladesh's internet service sector more secure, disciplined and resilient."
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