- Nisarga Adhikary joined IIT Kanpur's C3iHub as an OSINT and threat intelligence engineer
- His role includes identifying vulnerabilities and contributing to cyber threat research
- IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal personally offered Adhikary the cybersecurity role
Nisarga Adhikary, the young cybersecurity enthusiast who recently made headlines for flagging flaws in CBSE's OSM system, has joined IIT Kanpur's technology innovation hub, C3iHub, as an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and threat intelligence engineer.
Adhikary said his new role involves identifying vulnerabilities, analysing publicly available information and contributing to ethical hacking and cyber threat research. He has already started working at the institute and described the position as his first full-time role dedicated entirely to cybersecurity.
Speaking about how the opportunity came about, Adhikary said IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal personally reached out to him. According to him, the conversation helped him gain a better understanding of the cybersecurity work being carried out at the institute.
"When IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal reached out with the opportunity, our conversation was extremely insightful. I got a deeper understanding of the kind of cybersecurity work being undertaken at the institute, which made the role even more appealing," he said.
While Adhikary has worked as a software engineer in the past, cybersecurity had largely remained a personal interest. He said he is excited to now pursue the field professionally.
The young engineer's interest in computers began at an early age. He recalled that he started exploring cybersecurity simply out of curiosity when he was around 13 years old.
"I got into cybersecurity for fun when I was around 13. That curiosity gradually turned into something I wanted to pursue seriously," he said.
For now, Adhikary says he is focused on building products and working with startups rather than following a traditional college or academic route. His journey from a teenager exploring cybersecurity as a hobby to securing a role at one of India's leading technical institutions highlights how passion and self-learning can open unexpected opportunities.
