Massive Data Breach Exposes CBSE Answer Sheets of 20 Lakh Students

On May 31, 2026, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reported that answer sheets of approximately 20 lakh (2 million) Class 12 students from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) were publicly accessible online, raising significant privacy and data security concerns. The breach is attributed to alleged negligence by COEMPT, the contractor responsible for digitizing and evaluating the exams. Ramesh criticized the quality of the leaked documents, which showed signs of poor scanning, suggesting they may have been captured with mobile phones instead of professional equipment. Allegations also surfaced regarding an improperly configured storage bucket that allowed public access to sensitive files. The Congress party has called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident. CBSE has acknowledged the vulnerabilities and stated that cybersecurity experts are working to secure the system. The incident reflects broader issues of data protection and management within educational institutions.

Key Points: • Approximately 20 lakh CBSE Class 12 answer sheets were exposed online. • The breach is linked to negligence by COEMPT, the contractor for digitization. • Congress demands a CBI investigation and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.