Inside the exam machine: NTA now has a security chief, CERT-In audits and written SOPs
The published affidavit lists what has changed in how question papers are set, moved and opened — a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer, third-party cyber audits, and standard operating procedures covering the whole paper lifecycle.
Every paper-leak scandal of the last few years came down to the same thing: a question paper existed, in some readable form, in a place where somebody who should not have had it could reach it. The affidavit NTA published this week sets out what has been put between the paper and that person.
Information security
- NTA has designated a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
- The post of General Manager, Information Security was advertised — the affidavit encloses the advertisement dated 25 July 2026 — and the selection process is described as being at an advanced stage.
- Independent third-party cyber-security audits by CERT-In and C-DAC empanelled agencies continue to be carried out.
Standard operating procedures for the whole lifecycle
Standard operating procedures recommended by the expert committee have been defined for NTA's key operational processes and are being applied across the examination cycle. The affidavit lists what they cover, and the list is the interesting part:
- question-paper setting
- translation
- printing and packing
- tracking and movement
- examination-day protocols and the opening of trunks
- examination-centre security
- return movement of material and computation of result
Why "opening of trunks" is on that list
Because that is where several documented failures happened. A question paper is at its most vulnerable not in a server but in the hour before an examination, in a room at a centre, in a sealed trunk that somebody has to open. Writing down who opens it, when, in front of whom, and on whose authority is unglamorous and it is exactly the right fix.
What a candidate should take from it
Two practical things. First, expect centre-day procedure to get stricter, not looser — earlier reporting times, tighter checks, fewer things you may carry. Read the admit card instructions for every examination as if they were new, because they keep changing.
Second, the affidavit is a public document now. If you sit an NTA examination and something at your centre departs visibly from the stated procedure, there is a written standard to measure it against, and a Supreme Court matter listed on 9 October in which stakeholder suggestions are being received.
CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the affidavit of the Union of India on information security and standard operating procedures, published by the National Testing Agency. Official portal: nta.ac.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.