CBSE's U-turn, admits security gaps after online marking portal hacked twice

With the ongoing controversy around the On-Screen Marking, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday acknowledged vulnerabilities in the digital platform used for evaluating Class 12 answer sheets, a notable departure from its earlier claims that the issues flagged were related to an incorrect URL and a testing portal, and not a security breach.

In a post on X, the board has said that they are closely monitoring vulnerabilities identified in the OSM portal of its service provider after concerns were flagged in the public domain.

The admission comes amid mounting scrutiny of the board's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, with students raising concerns,



ethical hackers flagging potential security flaws and questions being raised over the tender process through which the contract was awarded.

In an official statement, CBSE said an expert team of cybersecurity professionals from various government agencies and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has been working over the past few days to strengthen the system's security infrastructure.

According to the board, the identified vulnerabilities have been contained, and efforts are underway to rule out any other exploitable weaknesses. CBSE added that the portal is also being shifted to a more secure setup as part of the ongoing security enhancement measures.