The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) website has been labelled as severely insecure, with an IT expert rating its security at zero on a scale of one to ten. Srikanth Lakshmanan, who has over three decades of experience in the IT sector, shared his insights on a GitHub blog following numerous breaches reported by young tech enthusiasts. He characterised the website’s security as fundamentally flawed, suggesting a lack of basic quality controls and security measures.

Srikanth specifically pointed out that sensitive information, such as students’ answer sheets, was accessible without any authentication. He mentioned that the current infrastructure allowed unrestricted read and write access, indicating that those responsible lacked adequate experience and knowledge in implementing such a system.

His remarks were a response to a growing controversy regarding the CBSE’s On Screen Marking (OSM) initiative, which aims to streamline the evaluation process for Class 12 examinations. The introduction of OSM has raised significant concerns among students regarding the integrity and accuracy of their evaluations.

Problems Identified with On Screen Marking

The OSM process, which began this academic year, involved the scanning of answer sheets prior to assessment by examiners. However, issues arose when students requesting re-evaluations received blurry copies or even answer sheets that did not belong to them. These complaints prompted a closer examination of the CBSE’s systems, revealing alarming flaws in security and data management.

A notable incident involved a 19-year-old cybersecurity researcher, Nisarga Adhikary, who discovered that anyone could access students’ marks and answer sheets without any verification process. This breach highlighted the need for immediate reforms in how the CBSE manages its digital infrastructure.

Srikanth elucidated this point further, likening the breaches to gaining access not just to a backdoor but to a comprehensive control of the school’s operations, emphasising how the sensitive data handled by the board was inadequately protected.

Need for Accountability and Next Steps

In conversations with media representatives, Srikanth indicated that implementing OSM is not inherently complicated but has been marred by a lack of preparedness and prioritisation from the CBSE. Despite having worked on integrating such technologies in other countries, he noted that India’s unique scale presents challenges that were seemingly overlooked during the rollout of OSM.

Following the exposure of the controversial tender process leading to the selection of the current OSM provider, it is essential for CBSE to act transparently in addressing these issues. Srikanth called for a genuine commitment to resolving security concerns rather than denying any problems.

As the situation continues to unfold, the effectiveness of the new measures being taken by the CBSE will determine whether they can restore trust in their systems. A new portal was launched on June 2, aiming to streamline marks re-evaluation for students. However, reports suggest that this system may introduce additional challenges, such as problems with Aadhaar-based authentication for some students.

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