- 5 hours ago
Sixteen-year-old student Rylen Anil, who is based in Dubai, has identified and ethically reported major vulnerabilities in the examination portals for both NEET and JEE Advanced.
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00:00It brings a smile to your face, I'll tell you why.
00:02Because I want you to meet someone very special here on the program.
00:06Someone who's just 16 years old.
00:08He has just walked into Class 12, he lives in Dubai,
00:12born and brought up there, and is studying CBSC there,
00:16like likes of students.
00:18And the space of just five days, this one 16-year-old boy
00:22has done something that grown men in our system
00:25with all their resources, all their power,
00:28somehow just could not.
00:30He found the cracks, he found the holes
00:32in two of the biggest examination systems in the country,
00:36NEET and JEE Advanced,
00:38the exams that decide the future of millions of children.
00:42And he did not just find those holes,
00:44he reported them quietly, carefully, ethically.
00:48His name is Railan Alil, and he's not alone.
00:52There's a whole group of them now,
00:5416, 17-year-old kids like Nisagra, like Sarthak.
00:57A growing community of young people
01:00who have picked up their laptops
01:01and done, frankly, the job many of us were meant to do.
01:06Think about what has happened in just the last few days.
01:10Three boys.
01:14One of them, Sarthak, became the youngest person ever to depose
01:18before the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
01:19And we are told that after he spoke,
01:22the shake-up in the CBSE finally happened.
01:24Two of the top bureaucrats were transferred.
01:27And here is the part that should make a lot of us pause.
01:30When they spoke up,
01:32some of them were called Pakistanis,
01:35anti-nationals, trolled.
01:39As if pointing out a flaw in your own house
01:41means you love it less.
01:45So I have so much respect
01:49for these cyber boys of India.
01:52I decided to sit down with them.
01:54Two of those interviews you've already seen.
01:56Rylan is here with us.
01:57Listen to him because this is Gen Z.
02:01Not the ones just typing away in anger online.
02:04The ones who are quietly
02:06holding up a mirror to the system
02:07and asking it to take a look.
02:12I like to call them the cyber boys of India.
02:15I want you to sit back and enjoy this conversation.
02:17I spoke with him earlier.
02:27Joining me on the program now is Rylan Anil.
02:30He is 16 years old.
02:32He is just, has gone in class 12th.
02:36Is a CBSE student,
02:38but studies that in Dubai.
02:40He is born and brought up there.
02:41And why is he such a special guest?
02:43Because it is because of him
02:46and lots of other students like him
02:49that the entire education system
02:52in the country has woken up.
02:56With their sheer grit,
02:59with their sheer way of exposing,
03:02they have pointed out
03:06so many vulnerabilities in the system
03:08that even the government
03:10has been forced to take note.
03:13So I'm very, very thrilled
03:14and salute to all you youngsters out there.
03:18No matter what people say about Gen Z,
03:20I think that's the true Gen Z
03:22who's really out there
03:24trying to do what they do best.
03:26Speak with their work,
03:28not just the ones who are,
03:29you know, just typing online.
03:31So Ryalin, thank you so much for joining us.
03:34I want to start by asking you this.
03:36In the past five days alone,
03:38you have done two ethical hacks,
03:43both exposing systems
03:45at NEET level,
03:47also at the JEE advanced level.
03:51Both these ethical hacks
03:53that you have done,
03:54how long did it take for you?
03:57Well, I believe the JEE one
03:59took me about, I think,
04:01three to four hours total.
04:02And I think the NEET one
04:04also took me about three hours.
04:05I think, but I think
04:07for someone else to do it,
04:08they will need my level
04:09of technical capability.
04:12So you are a class 12 student.
04:15You've just gone to class 12 now.
04:17How do you know how to hack?
04:19Well, I think ever since the 8th grade,
04:21I've been interested in computer systems.
04:24And I think I've been toying around with them,
04:26playing with Linux systems, etc.
04:29So ever since then,
04:30I've been, you know,
04:30trying to do bug bounty hunting
04:32or engaging in like hacking games
04:34such as CTFs.
04:35And from there, I learned a lot.
04:38Okay.
04:39Is that what you see yourself doing
04:40later in life?
04:42Yes, that is what I see myself doing
04:44later in life.
04:45I aspire to be like a CISO
04:46or a cybersecurity engineer.
04:48Okay.
04:50So take us through the sequence of events.
04:5231st of May is when you put out
04:54the first vulnerability
04:54in the need system.
04:57And what happened immediately after?
04:59You put it out on Twitter.
05:01You put out the entire sequence
05:02of events there,
05:03how it was vulnerable,
05:05at what points, etc.
05:06What happened after that?
05:08Well, first, actually,
05:10I had sent the vulnerability
05:11to SurtDogin.
05:11And then I think 10 minutes later,
05:14I posted it on Twitter.
05:16And then I just went to sleep, really.
05:20And throughout the night,
05:20pretty sure throughout the night,
05:22it blew up.
05:23And in the morning,
05:24I got an email from NTA officials
05:27and they thanked me
05:28for exposing such a huge vulnerability
05:30in their system.
05:31And they promptly responded
05:33by taking down the entire portal.
05:36I see.
05:37Who in the NTA reached out to you?
05:40Abhishek Singh,
05:41the Director General.
05:43I see.
05:43He reached out to you personally
05:44and thanked you.
05:46You explained the entire process
05:47to him then
05:48and then they shut down the portal.
05:49That's what you're saying.
05:51Yes.
05:52And in the case of NEET?
05:53Sorry.
05:54And in the case of JE?
05:57JE happened a bit faster.
05:59I actually,
06:00when I reported,
06:01I messaged the Director.
06:03I sent an email to Abhishek,
06:06Mr. Abhishek,
06:07about this vulnerability,
06:08about the JE vulnerability.
06:10And he forwarded it
06:11to the IIT heads.
06:12And they quickly responded
06:14and were able to fix the issue
06:16I think in a matter of hours.
06:19I see.
06:20And have they shut down
06:21the portal as well?
06:23I don't know
06:24if they shut down the portal
06:25but I know that the vulnerability
06:26has been fixed.
06:27And they were just patient.
06:29All right then.
06:30So, kudos to you.
06:32Kudos to students like Nisagra.
06:35Kudos to Sarthak.
06:37The entire education system
06:39in India at the moment
06:40has been shaken up
06:42to take some action.
06:43You know,
06:44I speak to you
06:45a day after Sarthak
06:46was actually summoned
06:47by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
06:49He became,
06:50in what we know,
06:51yeah,
06:51he became,
06:52in what we know,
06:53as the youngest ever
06:55to depose
06:56in front of the
06:57Parliamentary Standing Committee.
06:58And what I'm made
06:59to understand
06:59by my sources
07:00is that it was
07:01after his presentation
07:03that he made
07:04to the Parliament
07:05Standing Committee
07:06that the entire
07:07shake-up in CBSE
07:09happened
07:09and the top two
07:10bureaucrats
07:10were transferred.
07:12So, that's the power
07:13of young people
07:14like you.
07:15So,
07:16I know all of you
07:18are friends.
07:19I know there's a gang
07:20of ethical hackers
07:21who are now
07:22forming a community
07:23online
07:23and really doing,
07:25frankly,
07:25what journalists
07:26should have done.
07:26but at this point
07:28when you see,
07:29are you happy
07:30with the action
07:31that has been taken
07:31so far
07:32or do you think
07:33more needs to be done?
07:36I am extremely happy
07:37by the action
07:38taken so far
07:39but I also do believe
07:40that more needs to be done
07:41because CBSE
07:42has taken action
07:43by addressing
07:44all of the vulnerabilities
07:45that Nasaga has found
07:47and the NTA officials
07:49have also responded
07:50to me
07:51very quickly
07:52and very promptly.
07:53But I still believe
07:54that there are
07:54a lot of vulnerabilities
07:55in our government
07:56system
07:57which need to be fixed
07:58almost immediately.
08:00I see.
08:01So,
08:02give me a perspective here.
08:03You are based in Dubai.
08:04The vulnerabilities
08:05that you find
08:06here in India,
08:07compare that to the world
08:08and tell me
08:09are Indian systems here,
08:11Indian portals
08:11more vulnerable
08:12compared to the world?
08:14Well,
08:15I haven't really tested
08:17portals across the world.
08:19I can't really give you
08:20an estimate
08:20but I would say
08:22that the Indian systems
08:23were moderately hard
08:25to get into.
08:26for my expertise.
08:28All right.
08:30So,
08:31moderately hard
08:32for somebody like you
08:34could be very easy
08:35for a professional
08:36who's done this
08:37for a while,
08:38won't you say?
08:39maybe,
08:40but I can
08:42or I'm not at liberty
08:43to answer that.
08:44Okay.
08:44Okay,
08:45I understand that.
08:46I want to come to the point
08:48where
08:49I'm trying to understand
08:51for me,
08:52you know,
08:52what's happening right now
08:53in the education system
08:56is kind of a Gen Z movement.
08:59It's kind of a Gen Z moment
09:00as well.
09:01Young boys like you,
09:02boys and girls,
09:0316, 17,
09:05they are exposing
09:08what many have not been able
09:10to even fathom
09:11and you guys have done it
09:13with so much dignity.
09:15You don't,
09:16you didn't just publish
09:17the photos
09:18and the screenshots online.
09:20I saw that you had
09:21taken off the details
09:22that could harm.
09:23You had taken off
09:24the other,
09:25you know,
09:25steps as well.
09:26So,
09:26you did it in the most
09:27ethical way possible.
09:29Do you,
09:30do you see this?
09:32What's happening
09:32in the India's,
09:33in India's education system
09:35as a Gen Z moment?
09:38I see this as a pivotal shift
09:40for a lot of,
09:41you know,
09:42young technicians
09:43because a lot of people
09:44like myself
09:45have been inspired
09:46by Insagra
09:47and Sidhan Satik
09:48to start testing
09:49these portals.
09:50And I believe
09:51because of all these
09:52young people
09:52now testing
09:53our government's portals,
09:54I believe that
09:55we are going to be,
09:56we are going to become
09:57much more secure
09:57as a nation.
10:00Right.
10:01Right.
10:02I have to also then ask you
10:04that NT at this point,
10:07you know,
10:08has,
10:08there are proposals
10:09doing the rounds
10:10that need should move online.
10:13At the moment,
10:15since you guys are experts
10:16better than I am,
10:16you think,
10:18NEET at the moment
10:19or NTI at the moment
10:20has the capacity,
10:22capability,
10:23watertight system
10:24to actually make that happen?
10:26Should it move online?
10:28Well,
10:28they definitely do have
10:29the capacity
10:30and capability
10:31to move online,
10:32but I believe
10:33it's up to them.
10:34And,
10:35from my friends
10:36at least,
10:37I have heard
10:37that they would like
10:38the need to be taken online.
10:39but still,
10:41I feel like
10:41having it on paper
10:43is still fine,
10:44really.
10:45But just the required
10:46precautions
10:47need to be met.
10:48Right.
10:49You know,
10:50a couple of you,
10:51a couple of the students
10:52who spoke up
10:53early on
10:54about the
10:56discrepancies
10:57that was in the
10:57marking system
10:58in CBSC,
10:59they were trolled online,
11:01they were called
11:01Pakistanis,
11:02some were called
11:03anti-nationals.
11:04Were you scared
11:05exposing the system?
11:08Yeah,
11:09initially I was,
11:09I was,
11:11after my post,
11:13initially,
11:13it kind of blew up,
11:14I was really scared,
11:16I didn't know what to do.
11:17But,
11:17after I saw
11:18that NTN reached out to me,
11:20I,
11:20you know,
11:20a lot of my worries
11:21had gone down.
11:23And,
11:23look,
11:24I feel like
11:24them calling us
11:25anti-nationals
11:26is very wrong
11:27because I feel like
11:27we are more nationalists
11:28for bringing up
11:29these issues
11:29in our systems.
11:31Hmm.
11:32With you,
11:33with you on that,
11:34one,
11:34but parents
11:35at home,
11:36you guys are still
11:38underage,
11:39as they say.
11:40Were they scared?
11:41What did they say
11:42when you said,
11:42I'm going to go
11:43and expose
11:44India's education system?
11:46How did they react?
11:48The first thing
11:49they asked me was
11:50if I was going to jail.
11:51So,
11:52I had to quickly clarify
11:53that,
11:54you know,
11:55I did this ethically.
11:56After that,
11:57they were on my side,
11:59really.
11:59I offered to explain
12:00the situation to them.
12:01They contacted a lawyer
12:02and everything
12:03to make sure
12:03that I would be safe.
12:05But other than that,
12:06they were happy with me
12:07and they were proud of me
12:07for doing something like this.
12:09Do you think it's
12:10problematic
12:11that the first thought
12:12when somebody does right
12:15by trying to fix the system,
12:17the first thought
12:17that parents come up with
12:19is whether you'll go to jail?
12:20Do you think that's problematic?
12:22I don't think it's problematic
12:23because here,
12:25at least in my scenario,
12:27the first article
12:28they read was,
12:28you know,
12:29a teenage boy
12:30hacked into NEET.
12:33So,
12:33when they heard
12:34the word hacking
12:34itself has a lot of
12:36stigma along with it.
12:37So,
12:37I feel like
12:38when they heard that,
12:38they were extremely scared
12:39that I had leaked the details
12:41or had some,
12:42I explained the word
12:42about it online.
12:44So,
12:44I think my father
12:45actually comes from
12:46an IT background.
12:47so he was extremely scared
12:49about me
12:49doing something in nature.
12:52But in the end,
12:53I was able to explain to them
12:54and they were happy with me
12:55and they were gone.
12:58Alright.
12:59I will leave it there
13:00but leave me
13:01with an anecdote.
13:03Tell me what's
13:03the conversation
13:04going on
13:05between you,
13:05Saarthak,
13:06Nisagra right now.
13:07How are you guys
13:08feeling after
13:09being validated
13:11by the government,
13:12being validated
13:13by young people,
13:14being validated
13:15by us in the media
13:16as well.
13:17What's that feeling like?
13:19I think everyone
13:21is pretty happy
13:21that,
13:22you know,
13:22the system
13:23has finally acknowledged us
13:24and has addressed
13:25the issues that we found.
13:26And also,
13:27we are happy
13:28that our government
13:29borders will finally
13:30be secured
13:31and we will no longer
13:32be leaking off
13:33the data
13:34that we had before.
13:36Alright.
13:37Rylan Anil,
13:38just 16,
13:40making the entire
13:42country
13:42the world's
13:43largest democracy
13:44sit up
13:45and take note.
13:46It's young boys
13:47like him
13:48that have created
13:49history,
13:51made parliament
13:51panels,
13:52governments,
13:53bureaucrats,
13:54everybody say,
13:55hold on.
13:56The young
13:57in the country
13:59are up to something.
14:01They've got a mirror
14:02to show
14:02and it's high time
14:04they are heard.
14:05Thank you,
14:06Rylan,
14:07for taking out the time.
14:08Good luck
14:08with what you do next
14:10and yeah,
14:12stay safe.
14:14Okay,
14:14thank you.
14:19Okay,
14:20that was good.
14:22All right,
14:23so that was
14:24Rylan Anil
14:24and like we said,
14:25we like to call them
14:26the cyber boys
14:27of India.
14:29yeah.
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