IIT Kanpur Recruits Nisarga Adhikary as Threat Intelligence Engineer After CBSE OSM Flaw Disclosure

Nisarga Adhikary has joined IIT Kanpur's C3iHub as an OSINT and Threat Intelligence Engineer. Read the complete report below.

IIT Kanpur Recruits Nisarga Adhikary, Who Exposed Flaws in CBSE’s OSM System

Nisarga Adhikary is a whistleblower in the CBSE's OSM scam. This teenager identified security vulnerabilities in the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) portal and also reported the issues to the concerned authorities. His remarkable observations have helped bring attention to cybersecurity gaps in educational technology systems.

Following his journey, IIT Kanpur has hired this 19-year-old ethical hacker to join their C3iHub, the cybersecurity and cyber defence research centre. He has been appointed as an OSINT and Threat Intelligence Engineer.

What is CBSE OSM Scam, and What is Nisarga's Role?

The OSM portal is a critical digital platform used by CBSE-affiliated schools across the country to upload and manage students' examination marks. The system plays an important role in the board examination process, enabling schools to submit marks online for compilation and result preparation.

Adhikary Reported Flaws in CBSE OSM

In February 2026, Nisarga Adhikary reported multiple vulnerabilities in CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) portal.

Got Media Attention

Adhikary published a detailed blog post describing alleged flaws in the OSM platform, including weaknesses related to authentication, access control, and data security. The post later attracted widespread attention online.

CBSE Denied the Claims

National media reported his claims, however, CBSE issued a clarification denying any breach of the actual evaluation system. The board stated that the portal highlighted by Adhikary was a testing platform and not the live portal used for actual board exam evaluation.

Media and National Interest Pushed the Investigation

Following concerns over the OSM portal scam, experts from IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras were involved in reviewing the system. Reports then claimed that IIT experts had identified serious security concerns, and subsequently, the system was closed.

Currently, IIT Kanpur has appointed Nisarga Adhikary as an OSINT and Threat Intelligence Engineer at its cybersecurity innovation hub, C3iHub.

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, quoted to NDTV:

“Nisarga Adhikary has joined IIT Kanpur's C3iHub as an OSINT and Threat Intelligence Engineer. He is a talented young engineer who has demonstrated noteworthy technical capabilities at a young age. We believe he has significant potential, and working at IIT Kanpur will provide him with the opportunity to further develop his capabilities while contributing to cybersecurity and threat intelligence initiatives at C3iHub. We wish him the very best in his journey ahead.”