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New Delhi:Amidst the ever-increasing discussion and questions raised regarding the on-screen marking system, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has finally broken its silence. After students, parents and many technical experts raised concerns about the security of the system, the board has made it clear that it is working seriously on the entire matter and is taking steps towards making the digital system more secure than before.

Issuing an official statement, CBSE said that the technical vulnerabilities encountered in the On-Screen Marking (OSM) portal of its service provider are being continuously reviewed. The board says that taking the questions raised seriously, the process of reform has been expedited.

Expert team engaged in strengthening security

The board informed that for the last few days, experts in the field of cyber security are continuously examining the system. Professionals associated with different government agencies and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are also involved in this work. The main goal of the team is to strengthen the security framework of the portal and eliminate any potential threats. According to CBSE, the technical glitches that were identified have been rectified. Along with this, additional level security checks and improvements are also going on to ensure that the system does not face any problem in future.

CBSE praised ethical hackers

Amidst this entire incident, CBSE thanked those who pointed out the possible weaknesses in the system. The board said that aware citizens and ethical hackers put forward their views responsibly, which helped in the direction of improvement. It was also told in the statement that some people have been contacted directly and their role has been appreciated. The board has also invited other people who have noticed any security problem or technical deficiency.

How did the controversy start?

In recent days, the discussion about CBSE’s digital system intensified when 19-year-old ethical hacker Nisarga Adhikari claimed that some answer sheets and question papers could be available online. After this claim came to light, questions started being raised on the board’s on-screen marking system and its digital infrastructure. After this, the demand for investigation and security review regarding the matter increased and CBSE officially clarified the situation and informed about corrective steps.

Another name came into discussion in this controversy – class 12 student Sarthak Siddhant. After studying the tender documents of the board, he raised some procedural and security questions. According to him, questions arise regarding changes in some eligibility standards and relaxation in security conditions. However, the final conclusion on these allegations will come only after investigation and official review. At present CBSE says that its priority is to keep the students’ data and the entire evaluation system secure.