In response to the allegations on data leak in NEET 2018, CBSE has issued clarification and refuted any such mishappening. Brushing aside the allegations which it says 'to be the handiwork of certain unscrupulous persons with the objective of duping the gullible public, the Board, in an official statement, has stated that the data of 13 lakh candidates is maintained in encrypted format at National Informatics Centre (NIC).
With secured format and password protected data 'there is no question of any breach of data or misuse of data by CBSE' the Board has said. The online result do not carry details of the mobile number, email ID or other personal information clarified the Board. 'Similarly, after the declaration of the results, the data of all 13,26,725 NEET-UG 2018 candidates was given to Directorate General Health Service, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India for providing the same to the states and other counselling authorities for the purpose of counselling of 85% seats under their jurisdiction. This data is also shared with the concerned states in a highly secured format and is password protected too,' it said further.
The sanctity of the Board was in question when the news of NEET data leak surfaced online claiming that the data of close to 2 lakh candidates has been breached. As per reports, the personal data of over candidates, who appeared for NEET this year, were available for a price on some online portals. The information includes the names, phone numbers and email ids of candidates.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi wrote to the CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal regarding the massive breach and called for putting in place additional safeguards to prevent it in the future. 'I am shocked by this wide scale theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country,' he wrote in the letter on July 20.
