Cybersecurity Researcher Joins Protest Over CBSE Exam Issues

Nisarga Adhikary, a 19-year-old cybersecurity expert, made headlines recently when he attended a protest organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. His involvement has revitalized the ongoing demonstration, which has been active for over six weeks, as students and activists continue to voice their concerns regarding the integrity of national examinations and the oversight provided by educational institutions. Adhikary, who gained notoriety for exposing significant vulnerabilities in the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) digital evaluation systems, has become a symbol of the fight for accountability in educational governance. His technical insights have sparked a broader conversation about the security measures in place for digital platforms used in academic assessments.

Earlier this year, Adhikary's discovery of critical flaws within the CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) portal garnered significant attention. This platform was designed to streamline the evaluation of answer sheets for millions of students, but Adhikary's analysis revealed alarming security gaps. Among the issues he identified was a hard-coded master password that compromised two-factor authentication protocols, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive examiner dashboards and evaluation data. Despite the CBSE's initial claims that the vulnerabilities were limited to a test environment, the revelations raised serious questions about the overall security and transparency of the digital systems employed in educational assessments. Adhikary's findings not only highlighted the urgent need for reform but also fueled the ongoing protests as students rallied for greater accountability from the authorities.