Crack the code, skip the rank: IIT-K’s new cyber degree wants hackers, not toppers

NEW DELHI: IIT-Kanpur has launched a four-year Bachelor of Cybersecurity (BCyber) degree from the 2026-27 session — and a break from how the institute usually admits students, a JEE Advanced score won’t be required to get in. The launch lands with unmistakable timing: it comes just weeks after a 19-year-old ethical hacker exposed alleged flaws in CBSE’s new On-Screen Marking portal and was promptly recruited by the very institute now training his successors.Beginning in July 2026 under the newly created Wadhwani School of AI and Intelligent Systems, the programme will not rely on the usual JEE (Advanced) funnel. Instead, candidates will be shortlisted on their JEE (Main) scores and evidence of prior work in cybersecurity, then called to campus for an in-person assessment that includes a hackathon. Demonstrated skill, not just an exam rank, will help decide who gets a seat.The course follows a two-plus-two design: two years of on-campus coursework and laboratory training, followed by two years of internships with government security organisations.That hacker, Nisarga Adhikary, had earlier published a blog claiming the CBSE’s OSM portal’s flaws could let anyone bypass OTP authentication, impersonate examiners, reset passwords and even alter students’ marks.Director Manindra Agrawal positioned the programme around national stakes, calling cybersecurity critical to protecting India’s digital infrastructure and government systems. The course, he said, is built especially for young ethical hackers — “some of them are in the news” — selected through a hackathon and trained through long internships at security agencies. “We aim to produce cyber warriors of the future,” Agrawal said.A dedicated webpage carrying eligibility, admission and application details is expected to go live next week, the institute said.