- IIT Kanpur has appointed 19-year-old Nisarga Adhikary as an OSINT and Threat Intelligence Engineer
- Institute's Director Professor Manindra Agrawal described Adhikary as a "talented young engineer"
- Adhikary had recently come into the spotlight after highlighting vulnerabilities in the CBSE's OSM system
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has appointed 19-year-old Nisarga Adhikary as an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Threat Intelligence Engineer at its cybersecurity-focused technology innovation hub, C3iHub. Confirming the development, IIT Kanpur Director Professor Manindra Agrawal described Adhikary as a "talented young engineer" who has demonstrated noteworthy technical capabilities at a young age.
"Nisarga Adhikary has joined IIT Kanpur's C3iHub as an OSINT and Threat Intelligence Engineer. He is a talented young engineer who has demonstrated noteworthy technical capabilities at a young age. We believe he has significant potential, and working at IIT Kanpur will provide him with the opportunity to further develop his capabilities while contributing to cybersecurity and threat intelligence initiatives at C3iHub. We wish him the very best in his journey ahead," Professor Agrawal said.
Adhikary had recently come into the spotlight after highlighting vulnerabilities in the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
Speaking to NDTV, the teenager said he has joined IIT Kanpur's technology innovation hub, C3iHub, in a dedicated cybersecurity role.
"I have joined IIT Kanpur's technology innovation hub, C3iHub, as an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and threat intelligence engineer. My work involves identifying vulnerabilities, analysing publicly available information, and contributing to ethical hacking and cyber threat research," he said.
Recalling how the opportunity came about, Adhikary said his interaction with Professor Agrawal played a key role in his decision to join 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.
Adhikary described the position as his first full-time role dedicated entirely to cybersecurity.
"This is my first full-time position in a dedicated cybersecurity role. In my previous jobs, I primarily worked as a software engineer, while cybersecurity was something I pursued out of personal interest. I'm excited to now work on it professionally," he said.
He added that he has already started working in the role and that it is a paid position.
"At this stage, I'm more interested in building products and working with startups than pursuing a conventional college or academic path," he said.
Sharing how his interest in cybersecurity began, Adhikary said his fascination with computers started at an early age.
"I have been fascinated by computers from a very young age, and I got into cybersecurity for fun when I was around 13. That curiosity gradually turned into something I wanted to pursue seriously," he said.
