The controversy surrounding CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system has taken another dramatic turn after a 19-year-old ethical hacker, Nisarga Adhikary, claimed he managed to access a CBSE-linked portal and play the viral “Bad Apple” animation as a demonstration of what he described as serious security vulnerabilities. The incident has intensified public scrutiny of CBSE’s digital infrastructure at a time when the board is already facing criticism over evaluation discrepancies and technical issues linked to the new OSM system.
What Did The Teen Hacker Claim?
Nisarga Adhikary, a Class 12 student and cybersecurity researcher from West Bengal, alleged that he was able to gain extensive access to servers connected with CBSE’s digital evaluation ecosystem. He shared videos and screenshots online showing the famous monochrome “Bad Apple” animation running on a CBSE-linked dashboard page.
According to Adhikary, he had previously reported multiple vulnerabilities to CERT-In and other authorities months ago. He claimed the flaws could potentially allow unauthorized access to examiner accounts, password resets, and even modification of marks if left unresolved.
The demonstration quickly went viral across social media, triggering fresh concerns among students and parents already worried about the integrity of the OSM-based evaluation process.
CBSE Rejects Claims Of A Security Breach
CBSE has strongly denied that its actual evaluation system was compromised. The board clarified that the portal referenced in the viral posts was only a testing platform containing sample data used for internal review purposes and not the live system used for evaluating board examination answer sheets.
According to CBSE, no real student marks, answer sheets, or evaluation records were exposed. The board stated that the production-level OSM system remains secure and that no security breach has been detected in the actual evaluation infrastructure.
However, Adhikary has disputed parts of CBSE’s explanation, maintaining that the vulnerabilities he discovered were serious and deserved greater attention from authorities.
OSM System Already Facing Criticism
The hacking controversy arrives during an already difficult period for CBSE’s On-Screen Marking rollout. The digital evaluation system has faced complaints related to answer-sheet mix-ups, technical glitches, blurred scanned copies, portal crashes, and re-evaluation concerns.
Recent reports suggested that around 20 answer-sheet mix-up cases were identified during the first implementation of OSM, while more than 13,000 answer sheets reportedly required manual evaluation due to scanning issues.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has already acknowledged discrepancies in the system and assured students that corrective action is being taken.
Bigger Questions Around Digital Governance
The episode has sparked wider discussions about cybersecurity, digital governance, and the risks associated with large-scale digitisation of critical public systems. Experts note that while digital evaluation can improve efficiency and transparency, security auditing and infrastructure testing become equally important when millions of student records are involved.
The controversy has also drawn political attention, with opposition leaders questioning the implementation and procurement process behind the OSM project.
Summary
CBSE’s OSM controversy has intensified after 19-year-old ethical hacker Nisarga Adhikary claimed he accessed a CBSE-linked portal and demonstrated vulnerabilities by playing the viral “Bad Apple” animation. While CBSE insists that only a testing platform was involved and the actual evaluation system remains secure, the incident has raised fresh concerns about cybersecurity, transparency, and the reliability of the board’s new digital evaluation infrastructure.
