A 19-year-old Indian cybersecurity researcher has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) after identifying a critical vulnerability in one of the department’s law enforcement systems.
Nisarga Adhikary was named on the DoJ’s cybersecurity Hall of Fame and acknowledgements page for responsibly reporting the security flaw. The recognition comes after the department reviewed his findings and addressed the vulnerability within about a week, Adhikary told India Today.
Adhikary said he discovered the issue while examining the DoJ’s website and used custom scripts to identify potential security weaknesses. He then submitted a report detailing the vulnerability to the department.
“I reported the vulnerability roughly a week ago; they validated and patched this within a week and credited me on their Hall of Fame/acknowledgements page,” he told the publication.
The young researcher later shared a screenshot of the DoJ’s acknowledgements page on X. His name appears among researchers credited for responsibly disclosing valid vulnerabilities to the department.
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Adhikary did not disclose technical details about the vulnerability or identify the specific law enforcement system involved.
He also clarified that he was not paid for discovering or reporting the flaw.
His cybersecurity research has extended beyond the DoJ. Adhikary said he has previously reported vulnerabilities to other U.S. authorities, including the US military.
“I found a vulnerability in the U.S. Department of Defense/U.S. military system. I reported it, and after validation, they found it was valid. Remediation is still underway, though,” he said.
Adhikary said he received a “Thanks” from the US Department of Defense after reporting the issue. He added that he has identified other vulnerabilities and reported them to U.S. authorities, with some cases still undergoing remediation.
The recognition from the DoJ adds to a growing list of cybersecurity work by the teenager, who first gained attention in India after reporting vulnerabilities in the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) Online Submission of Marks (OSM) portal.
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Following the CBSE episode, Adhikary joined C3iHub at IIT Kanpur as an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Threat Intelligence Engineer. IIT Kanpur Director Agrawal congratulated him on the appointment and highlighted his technical abilities at a young age.
Adhikary’s professional journey in technology began while he was still a student. According to his LinkedIn profile, he started his first internship with the New Delhi Space Society in June 2023 as a Web Developer, where he worked on design collaboration and web development.
He later founded and led his own Hack Club while contributing to open-source Hack Club repositories and projects.
In September 2024, Adhikary joined Skann as a full-time Founding Engineer. Four months later, he worked as a Software Engineer intern at Cypherock and later held a similar role at Wavelength.
Being listed in the U.S. Department of Justice’s cybersecurity Hall of Fame marks another milestone in Adhikary’s transition from a student researcher to a cybersecurity professional, with his work now receiving recognition from U.S. government agencies.