Massive CBSE Data Leak? Hacker Claims Answer Sheets and Papers Left Publicly Accessible

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is facing a digital crisis as a 19-year-old ethical hacker, Nisarga Adhikary, has exposed massive security vulnerabilities in its online infrastructure. According to the claims, sensitive data including answer sheets and question papers were left publicly accessible due to a configuration error on the board's cloud servers.

Nisarga alleged that an Amazon Web Services (AWS) bucket linked to CBSE was not properly secured, allowing anyone on the internet to browse, paginate, and download examination-related media without any form of authentication. The hacker described the setup as "insanely insecure," pointing out that even scanned answer booklets from various institutions were ripe for the taking. This revelation has sent shockwaves through the student community, especially since it involves materials potentially linked to the 2026 academic cycle.

The security lapses don't stop at open cloud storage. Further allegations suggest that some CBSE-linked systems were protected by incredibly basic passwords, such as "123456." This news comes as a major blow to the board, which is already under fire for its controversial On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. Students and parents have recently complained about technical glitches in the OSM portal, including blurred answer sheets and missing pages that have led to significant evaluation concerns.

The controversy has also turned toward the administration's decision-making. Questions are being raised about how a software vendor with a questionable track record was awarded a contract that affects the future of nearly 98 lakh students. In response to these mounting concerns and the hacker's findings, CBSE has stated that it is "closely monitoring" the problems. However, the lack of a more robust security framework has left many wondering if student data is truly safe in the board's hands.

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