The CBSE On‑Screen Marking (OSM) portal, used by schools to upload and verify exam results, suffered a series of serious vulnerabilities that could let attackers access student marks.
Adhikary, who first experimented with school software at age 13, turned his curiosity into a career after he joined IIT Kanpur’s C3iHub as an OSINT and threat‑intelligence engineer in June.
The DOJ Hall of Fame, created to honour researchers who responsibly disclose flaws to U.S. agencies, now lists Adhikary among the few who have proven their ability to secure government systems.
CBSE officials thanked him for the findings and said the portal will undergo a full security audit before the next examination cycle.
IIT Kanpur’s director praised the work as evidence of the institute’s commitment to bridging academia and industry.
The DOJ’s recognition hints at joint training and shared threat‑intelligence projects between Indian and U.S. cyber‑security agencies, potentially expanding to other educational platforms.