Who is Nisarga Adhikary? 19-year-old Indian honored by US Department of Justice for finding ‘critical vulnerability’ in law enforcement | Today’s news
Nisarga Adhikary, a 19-year-old cyber security researcher who grabbed the limelight earlier this year after identifying vulnerabilities in the CBSE Online Submission of Marks (OSM) portal, has achieved yet another cyber security success.
Adhikary has now been recognized by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) after it reported a security flaw in one of its systems. He told India Today that his work led to his name being included in the Ministry of Cyber Security’s Hall of Fame.
The teenager’s work in cybersecurity also extended to US military systems, where he said he identified and reported vulnerabilities to authorities.
Nisarga finds a “critical vulnerability” in the US Justice Department’s system.
Adhikary told India Today that he had discovered a “critical vulnerability” in one of the Justice Department’s main law enforcement systems. He did not release details about the specific system or explain the nature of the vulnerability.
According to Adhikary, the department investigated his report after he submitted his findings. “I reported the vulnerability about a week ago; within a week they confirmed and fixed it and credited me on their Hall of Fame/Thanks page.”
He later shared a screenshot on X showing his name on the DoJ thank you page. The list recognizes “researchers who have responsibly disclosed valid vulnerabilities” to the department.
Adhikary said he encountered the security issues while browsing the DoJ website and used custom scripts to identify potential vulnerabilities.
Custom scripts are programs created by researchers for specific tasks, such as finding security vulnerabilities in a system, rather than relying solely on existing cybersecurity tools.
The teenager also clarified that he was not paid to report the vulnerability to the Department of Justice.
Adhikary’s cybersecurity research has expanded beyond the DoJ. He said he had already reported the vulnerability to other US government agencies, including the US military.
Who is Nisarga Adhikary?
Adhikary first attracted attention earlier this year after he highlighted vulnerabilities he claimed to have found in CBSE’s digital systems.
After the CBSE episode, the teenager joined C3iHub at IIT Kanpur as an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Threat Intelligence Engineer.
IIT Kanpur Director Agrawal also congratulated Adhikary on his new role.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Adhikary started his professional journey with an internship at the New Delhi Space Society in June 2023. He worked as a web developer and gained experience in design collaboration while working with the organization.
He later founded and ran his own Hack Club, while contributing to several open-source repositories and Hack Club projects.
In September 2024, Adhikary joined Skann as a full-time founding engineer. Four months later, he started an internship as a software engineer at Cypherock. He subsequently interned at Wavelength in the same role.
His latest recognition from the US Department of Justice adds another milestone in his journey from student researcher to cybersecurity professional.
