NEW DELHI: IIT-Kanpur has launched a four-year Bachelor of Cybersecurity (BCyber) degree, starting from the 2026-27 session. In a notable departure from tradition, a JEE Advanced score will not be required for admission. The announcement comes just weeks after a 19-year-old ethical hacker, Nisarga Adhikary, exposed alleged flaws in CBSE’s new On-Screen Marking portal and was promptly recruited by the institute.
Admission Process
Beginning in July 2026 under the newly created Wadhwani School of AI and Intelligent Systems, the programme will not rely on the usual JEE (Advanced) funnel. Instead, candidates will be shortlisted based on their JEE (Main) scores and evidence of prior work in cybersecurity. Shortlisted candidates will be called to campus for an in-person assessment that includes a hackathon. Demonstrated skill, not just an exam rank, will play a key role in determining who gets a seat.
Course Structure
The course follows a two-plus-two design: two years of on-campus coursework and laboratory training, followed by two years of internships with government security organisations.
Background
Nisarga Adhikary, the ethical hacker, had earlier published a blog claiming that the CBSE’s OSM portal’s flaws could allow anyone to bypass OTP authentication, impersonate examiners, reset passwords, and even alter students’ marks. IIT-Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal positioned the programme around national stakes, calling cybersecurity critical to protecting India’s digital infrastructure and government systems. The course, he said, is built especially for young ethical hackers — “some of them are in the news” — selected through a hackathon and trained through long internships at security agencies. “We aim to produce cyber warriors of the future,” Agrawal said.
A dedicated webpage carrying eligibility, admission, and application details is expected to go live next week, the institute said.
