CBSE ‘hack’, IIT gig and US recognition: Nisarga Adhikary’s incredible year at 19

Nisarga Adhikary, a 19-year-old from Siliguri, West Bengal, had an extraordinary year in 2023. On September 22, he received an email from the US Department of Justice recognizing his work in discovering and reporting a security flaw in the US Department of Justice's systems. Nisarga, who loves to break systems and understand how they work, began his cybersecurity journey by examining the Central Board of Secondary Education's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.

He found several weaknesses, including bypassing the OTP checks and accessing about 1.8 million scanned answer sheets. He reported his findings to CERT-In and published a detailed account, which gained widespread attention. Nisarga's work led to a job offer at IIT Kanpur's cybersecurity hub. His parents, both IAS officers, initially opposed his hacking pursuits but eventually accepted his career choice.

Nisarga also participated in protests against the NEET-UG paper leak and was invited to meet Rahul Gandhi. He identifies as socially left and economically right, with interests in activism for neurodivergent rights, queer rights, and internet freedom. Nisarga's remarkable journey has earned him international recognition and admiration.