CBSE admits vulnerabilities in OnMark portal, says 'issues contained'
What's the story
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has confirmed that the vulnerabilities in its OnMark portal have been contained. The admission comes after concerns were raised about possible security weaknesses in the system. In a statement on X, CBSE said it has been closely monitoring these reported vulnerabilities and has deployed an expert team of cybersecurity professionals to address them.
Security measures
Cybersecurity professionals from IITs, government agencies
The team of cybersecurity professionals, CBSE said, is from various government agencies and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). They are working to strengthen the platform's security architecture and migrate it to a more secure setup. "The identified vulnerabilities have been contained, and other exploitable weaknesses are being ruled out," CBSE said in its post. The board also thanked alert citizens and ethical hackers who brought these issues to light.
Public concern
Teen flagged vulnerabilities on social media
The statement comes after a teenager and cybersecurity researcher flagged alleged vulnerabilities in the board's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. The researcher claimed these flaws could allow unauthorized access to examiner accounts and other sensitive functions. These allegations sparked widespread discussion on social media, raising concerns over the security of CBSE's digital evaluation infrastructure.
Clarification
CBSE clarifies on alleged breach
In response to the concerns, CBSE clarified that the portal in question was not the live evaluation system used for assessing answer sheets. The board maintained that no student data, marks or evaluation records had been compromised and there was no breach of the operational examination platform. This clarification came as part of CBSE's effort to reassure stakeholders amid rising scrutiny over digital examination and evaluation platforms.