The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday swiftly addressed vulnerabilities in its NEET-UG portal, which were flagged by a teenage cybersecurity researcher. The researcher warned that the flaws could be exploited to access sensitive information.
Vulnerability Discovery
A 16-year-old identifying himself as Rylen Anil, a cybersecurity researcher, raised the alarm on social media platform X. Interestingly, he is followed by the NTA administration. The weaknesses, if exploited, could have potentially allowed outsiders to access details related to examination observers, centre coordinators, and test centres, including names, mobile numbers, and email addresses.
NTA's Response
NTA sources confirmed that the vulnerability briefly affected the website but has since been fixed. The agency, already under criticism over a paper leak, moved quickly to patch the flaw. However, officials stopped short of endorsing Anil's claims about the potential damage.
Anil alleged that the vulnerabilities could have enabled actions such as exporting internal records, generating appointment letters, modifying observer data, uploading templates, and managing administrative mappings linked to the examination process. This triggered concern among students, parents, and cybersecurity observers.
Portal Disruption
As screenshots and allegations circulated online, several users reported that the re-examination portal link temporarily stopped working, displaying a "404 Not Found" message. This further fueled speculation about possible backend intervention or emergency technical changes.
In the evening, NTA officials maintained that necessary corrective measures were implemented and the portal was functioning normally. The incident occurred on a day when a barrage of cyber attacks was unleashed on the CBSE website.
About the Author
Manash Pratim Gohain is a seasoned journalist with over two decades at The Times of India, covering education policy, politics, and governance. Known for his incisive coverage of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, accreditation reforms, and skilling initiatives, he has also reported on student politics, urban policy, and social movements. His work bridges policy with public impact, making him a trusted voice in national discourse.
