CBSE Security Lapse: Answer Sheets Publicly Accessible

Allegations of a significant data security lapse concerning scanned CBSE Class 12 answer sheets and question papers have surfaced, sparking widespread concern among students, parents, and cybersecurity experts.

A 19-year-old ethical hacker, Nisarga Adhikary, claimed that an improperly configured Amazon Web Services (AWS) bucket exposed sensitive academic records. He alleged that this insecure setup, reportedly used by multiple institutions, allowed public access to scanned answer booklets from the 2026 examinations.

Adhikary reportedly alerted CERT-In to the issue days before it gained public attention. Following these claims, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a statement acknowledging vulnerabilities in its OnMark portal. The board confirmed that an expert cybersecurity team, including professionals from government departments and IITs, has been deployed.

CBSE asserted that the identified vulnerabilities have been contained and that they are actively investigating other potential weaknesses. The board also extended its gratitude to alert citizens and ethical hackers for reporting such security concerns, encouraging further input through official channels.