CBSE rubbishes Neet leak of data allegation

Hyderabad: CBSE has denied any data leak in Neet-UG 2018. In a statement released on Tuesday evening, the board claimed that there was no question of any breach of data or any misuse of data by CBSE.  The CBSE said it had a foolproof system of conducting prestigious and high stake examinations such as Neet-UG. It said that it ensured data protection in the interest of examinees and to uphold the sanctity of public examinations. It has requested the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to take appropriate cognisance of the issue.

The statement released by the CBSE reads, “It is alleged that the data of around two lakh candidates who had appeared in Neet-UG 2018 conducted by the CBSE has been breached and is available for a price. While this appears to be the handiwork of certain unscrupulous persons with the objective of duping the gullible public, it is pertinent to set the records straight.’’ The CBSE has denied the allegations based on the following facts like, the entire data of more than 13,26,725 candidates of Neet-UG was maintained only in encrypted format with strict security measures with National Informatics Centre (NIC).

According to the CBSE, even in the printout of the confirmation page downloaded by the candidates, important details such as identification documents, mobile number and email id are in encrypted format. The NIC hosts several government data in a highly-secured environment.

Even when the CBSE obtains data from NIC for the purpose of allotment of roll numbers and results, it does not contain personal details such as mobile numbers, details of identification documents, email IDs etc. If the CBSE communicates with candidates through SMS or email id, it is sent with the registration number of the candidates. This data is shared with the concerned states in a highly secured format and is password protected too. Therefore, there was no question of any breach of data or any misuse of data by it, the CBSE said.