The Central Board of Secondary Education on July 24 refuted the reports of the alleged data breach of around two lakh students who had appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) earlier this year.

A press note issued by the Board stated that the entire data of more than 13,26,725 candidates of NEET-UG was maintained only in encrypted format with strict security measures with National Informatics Centre (NIC). Even the print out of the confirmation page downloaded by candidates, the vital details such as identification documents, mobile and email id are in the encrypted format.

It also states that the results declared by CBSE through NIC and do not contain mobile number, email id and other identification details of the candidates. The Board has also requested NIC to take appropriate cognizance of the issue. Earlier in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi wrote to CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal seeking an inquiry into the NEET data breach. He sought action from the CBSE and asked the education body to put in place effective safeguards to prevent future breaches.