The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the government agency tasked with handling cyber threats, has disclosed that it first flagged vulnerabilities in CBSE-related domains on February 26. In an emergency assessment of one portal, CERT-In determined that the platform was not fit for hosting in a production environment—the operational stage of a software application. This revelation came as a parliamentary panel quizzed officials on the matter.
Student's Presentation Sparks Action
Sarthak Sidhant, a student from Jharkhand, made a presentation to the panel on alleged irregularities in the tendering process for vendor selection. This occurred days after he had flagged the issue online, prompting government agencies to take action. Sarthak pointed out anomalies in the tendering process that allegedly allowed Coempt to be part of the bidding process.
CBSE's Response
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) maintained that changes were made to the tendering process to make bidding more competitive. A note from CERT-In shared with the committee, headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, stated that the agency verified vulnerabilities flagged by users between February-end and May, and informed CBSE for rectification. CBSE acknowledged in its communication that these issues would be addressed in the production environment. Some vulnerabilities were subsequently fixed.
Sources revealed that CERT-In verified the reported vulnerabilities and notified CBSE for rectification three times between February and May 25, and also alerted Amazon Web Services—which hosts parts of CBSE's digital infrastructure—on May 31.
Parliamentary Committee Proceedings
CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh—who was transferred hours later—and School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar were among the officials who appeared before the committee. “The committee has always been looking at the issues of students and their problems. This is exactly what the committee has done,” Digvijaya Singh told reporters. Sarthak later also met Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who has seized on the issue to sharpen his attack on the government. “Stick to your principles, Sarthak,” Rahul said on X.
