The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) denied allegations that its On-Screen Marking (OSM) system was hacked on Tuesday [1].
The dispute centers on the integrity of the board's digital evaluation process. If the marking system were vulnerable to external breaches, it could potentially compromise the grades and academic records of millions of students across India.
Rajesh Kumar Gupta, a CBSE regional head, addressed the allegations in Chandigarh [2]. He said that there is no question of the website being hacked [2]. According to board officials, the portal referenced in the hacking claims was a testing site and not the operational evaluation platform [1].
The allegations surfaced after Nisarga Adhikary, 19 [3], shared video evidence that he said showed a vulnerability in the OSM system [3]. Adhikary said that he identified serious lapses by accessing the website [3].
CBSE representatives countered these claims by explaining that examinations are conducted offline [1]. Because the core evaluation process does not rely on the public-facing website cited in the claims, the board said a website hack is irrelevant to the actual marking of exams [1, 2].
"The portal mentioned in the post is a testing site and not the operational evaluation platform," a CBSE spokesperson said [1].
“"There is no question of the website being hacked."”
This conflict highlights the tension between independent security researchers and government institutions. While the board maintains that the breach occurred on a non-critical testing server, the public nature of the claims creates a perception of vulnerability in the digital infrastructure used for high-stakes national examinations.
