Nisarga Adhikary, a 19-year-old cybersecurity researcher who flagged major security flaws in the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) portal, has been named in the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Hall of Fame for cybersecurity.
The recognition marks another milestone in Adhikary’s journey from a student researcher to a cybersecurity professional. His recognition by the US Department of Justice also highlights the role of ethical hacking and responsible vulnerability disclosure in identifying and addressing security flaws. The OSM portal is a digital platform used by CBSE-affiliated schools across the country to upload and manage students’ examination marks. The system is part of the board examination process, enabling schools to submit marks online for compilation and result preparation. In June this year, IIT Kanpur appointed Adhikary as an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Threat Intelligence Engineer at C3iHub, its cybersecurity-focused technology innovation hub.
“I have been fascinated by computers from a very young age, and I got into cybersecurity for fun when I was around 13.
Sharing the news, Adhikary said he had been added to the US DoJ’s Hall of Fame. Speaking about how his interest in cybersecurity began, Adhikary said that his fascination with computers started at an early age. That curiosity gradually turned into something I wanted to pursue seriously,” he had said.
