With the ongoing controversy around the On-Screen Marking, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday acknowledged vulnerabilities in the digital platform used for evaluating Class 12 answer sheets, a notable departure from its earlier claims that the issues flagged were related to an incorrect URL and a testing portal, and not a security breach.
In a post on X, the board has said that they are closely monitoring vulnerabilities identified in the OSM portal of its service provider after concerns were flagged in the public domain.
The admission comes amid mounting scrutiny of the board’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, with students raising concerns, ethical hackers flagging potential security flaws and questions being raised over the tender process through which the contract was awarded.
In an official statement, CBSE said an expert team of cybersecurity professionals from various government agencies and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has been working over the past few days to strengthen the system’s security infrastructure.
According to the board, the identified vulnerabilities have been contained, and efforts are underway to rule out any other exploitable weaknesses. CBSE added that the portal is also being shifted to a more secure setup as part of the ongoing security enhancement measures.
CBSE THANKS ETHICAL HACKERS
The board thanked alert citizens and ethical hackers who brought potential security issues to its attention. CBSE said it has already contacted some of these individuals directly and appreciated their role in helping improve the system’s security.
The board has also invited others who may have identified vulnerabilities or security concerns to share their findings with its security team via email at secy-cbse@nic.in.
The statement comes amid scrutiny of the OnMark portal and concerns over its security, with CBSE asserting that corrective measures are being taken to safeguard the system.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Recently, fresh questions emerged over the security of CBSE’s digital infrastructure after 19-year-old ethical hacker Nisarga Adhikary alleged that answer sheets and question papers stored in an AWS bucket were publicly accessible online. The claim comes amid ongoing scrutiny of CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system and days after Adhikary’s disclosures about vulnerabilities in CBSE-linked digital platforms triggered a nationwide debate over the board’s technology ecosystem.
Moreover, a 17-year-old Class 12 student became the unexpected face of the CBSE OSM controversy after conducting a detailed analysis of CBSE’s tender documents. Sarthak Sidhant alleged that the board relaxed key eligibility criteria and reduced certain security requirements during the tender process, which ultimately led to Hyderabad-based Coempt Eduteck securing the On-Screen Marking (OSM) contract.
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