To mark Cyber Security Awareness Month, CyberStation, the cybersecurity division of Brain Station 23 PLC, organised a seminar titled 'Bangladesh Cyber Resilience Briefing 2026'. Held on Thursday at BRAC Centre Inn in Mohakhali, the capital, the seminar presented the company's observations on data leaked on Bangladesh's dark web. Nearly 150 representatives from the banking, telecommunications, technology, government and education sectors, along with officials from regulatory bodies and cybersecurity professionals, took part.

The seminar revealed that after reviewing 767 domains across 15 sectors of the country, personal data was found on the dark web in nearly all of them. Evidence showed that the login information of at least 17,362 users and records of more than 18 lakh users had been exposed. CyberStation said these figures are the minimum estimate and the actual numbers could be higher. According to its monitoring, the largest share of exposed citizen data comes from the government services sector, while the technology and telecommunications sectors recorded the highest rate of exposure.

Mohibbul Moqtadir, head of cybersecurity services at CyberStation, said: 'We cannot deal with the risk we cannot see. Our goal is to help organisations understand which of their data has been exposed and take measures before criminals can misuse it.'

MJ Ferdous, executive director of Brain Station 23, said: 'Drawing on our 20 years of experience, we have built CyberStation as our own cybersecurity division. The purpose of today's seminar was to review where the country stands in cybersecurity and what initiatives need to be taken going forward. We must reduce dependence on foreign software and strengthen the country's own cybersecurity capabilities. If our contribution proves useful, we sincerely wish to stand by everyone.'

Cybersecurity expert Tanvir Hasan said: 'CyberStation is doing important work on cybersecurity. I have had the opportunity to use the technology they built. It can play a significant role not only in raising awareness about cyber risks but also in developing effective prevention and response strategies.'

Technologist Munir Hasan highlighted the importance of DarkWatch, saying: 'We should all work together to advance domestic technological initiatives such as DarkWatch, built by Brain Station 23. If such initiatives are further enriched, they will make an important contribution to the overall cybersecurity of Bangladesh in the future.'

A panel discussion was held on the risks of data exposure on Bangladesh's dark web and ways to tackle them. Participants included Professor Mohammad Shahriar Rahman, adviser to the University Grants Commission (UGC); Mohammad Shamsul Haque, head of the Special Response Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP); Md. Imran Khan, Joint Secretary (ICT) of Bangladesh Bank; and technology expert Mahtab Uddin Ahmed. The discussion emphasised coordinated initiatives to prevent data misuse and respond to such risks.

Also present were Hamida Kazi, chair of the Computer Science department at Brac University; Chairman of the Computer Science department at Jahangirnagar University Abul Kalam Azad; Professor Mohammad Jahidur Rahman; Rajesh Palit, director of the cybersecurity department at North South University; A K M Sajjad Hossain, Additional Managing Director of Grameen Bank; Brac University teacher and former CIO of Grameenphone Md. Lutfor Rahman; Shafkat Mahmud, Chief Technology Officer of Mvbil; and Colonel (retd.) Md. Sohel Rana, Managing Director of Stream Connect, among others.

CyberStation, which grew out of Brain Station 23's 20 years of experience, said it will continue its activities to raise cybersecurity awareness among organisations and citizens and provide the services needed to address risks. The initiative aims to strengthen the ability to identify risks in time and take effective action.