Roorkee: A cybersecurity researcher has claimed that candidate data related to JEE Advanced 2026 was exposed online due to a cloud storage configuration issue. The matter came to light after the declaration of examination results, prompting a response from IIT Roorkee, the organising institute for this year’s examination.
According to the researcher, approximately 1.79 lakh candidate result records and nearly 1.87 lakh admit card PDF files could be accessed online without authentication. The researcher stated that the exposed information allegedly included candidates’ names, dates of birth and mobile numbers.
The issue was highlighted on social media platform X by cybersecurity researcher Rylan Anil, who claimed that a misconfiguration in the cloud storage system made the data publicly accessible. Screenshots shared in the post reportedly showed lists of admit card files and candidate-related records.
Following the disclosure, IIT Roorkee responded publicly and thanked the researcher for reporting the issue responsibly. The institute acknowledged that there was a configuration-related problem within the cloud storage system and stated that corrective action was being taken on priority.
IIT Roorkee clarified that the affected data was stored in “read-only mode”, which meant that records could be viewed but could not be altered or tampered with. The institute said there was no possibility of modification of the stored information through the exposed location.
JEE Advanced 2026 results were announced on the night of May 31. According to official figures, 1,87,389 candidates registered for the examination, while 1,79,694 candidates appeared in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 conducted on May 17, 2026.
A total of 56,880 candidates qualified the examination, including 10,107 female candidates.
The incident has once again raised concerns about data security and the protection of personal information associated with large-scale national examinations. Further details regarding the extent of the exposure and any additional safeguards are awaited.
