‘Energy Here Truly Crazy’: Nisarga Adhikary, Who Hacked CBSE Exam Portal, Shows Up At Jantar Mantar Protest
‘Energy Here Truly Crazy’: Nisarga Adhikary, Who Hacked CBSE Exam Portal, Shows Up At Jantar Mantar Protest Written By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 22:24
‘Energy Here Truly Crazy’: Nisarga Adhikary, Who Hacked CBSE Exam Portal, Shows Up At Jantar Mantar Protest Written By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 22:24 IST Taking to social media platform X from Jantar Mantar, the 19-year-old shared pictures with key organisers, including Abhijeet Dipke Nisarga Adhikary posted a selfie with CJP's Abhijeet Dipke. Image/X Nisarga Adhikary, the 19-year-old cybersecurity researcher whose technical disclosures brought the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) digital evaluation flaws to light, joined the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest site at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Friday. Adhikary’s presence injected fresh momentum into the demonstration, which has entered its seventh week amid an ongoing deadlock between student groups and the central government over national examination integrity and institutional oversight. The Disclosures Behind the Agitation Adhikary first gained widespread recognition earlier this year after identifying major vulnerabilities within the CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) portal—a platform introduced to digitise answer sheet evaluation across millions of board examination scripts.
Having analysed the portal’s public code, Adhikary reported multiple flaws to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). His findings revealed critical authentication gaps, including a hard-coded master password that allowed bypass of two-factor authentication, potentially exposing examiner dashboards and candidate evaluation data. While the examination board initially attributed the issue to an isolated test environment before moving to contain the vulnerabilities, the revelations fuelled public debate regarding the security, preparedness, and transparency of digitised educational infrastructure. A Symbol of Youth-Led Technical Whistleblowing Adhikary’s findings contributed directly to the broader momentum surrounding student grievances this examination season. Following the disclosures, IIT Kanpur’s cybersecurity innovation hub, C3iHub, recruited him as an open-source intelligence (OSINT) and threat intelligence engineer. Taking to social media platform X from Jantar Mantar, Adhikary shared pictures with key organisers, including Abhijeet Dipke, describing the atmosphere at the site as intensely energised.
Wearing a mask to conceal his face—a practice he has maintained throughout his public appearances—he was met with enthusiasm by fellow young protesters who viewed his technical audit as crucial evidence supporting their call for systemic accountability. Persisting Deadlock at Jantar Mantar Adhikary’s arrival coincides with sustained political and administrative engagements at the protest venue. On Friday, a high-level government delegation conducted a two-hour meeting with CJP representatives to discuss demands regarding exam management and administrative accountability. While discussions yielded in-principle agreement on certain structural administrative measures, differences persist regarding high-level resignations. Meanwhile, the central administration has initiated executive changes, including leadership restructuring at the examination board and ministry level, while promising fast-track judicial mechanisms to address paper leaks and evaluation breaches. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Pathikrit Sen Gupta Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short.
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