1.5 million students’ data leaked online, put up for sale for up to Rs 60k

The student database leaked contains exhaustive personal information on students and their examination details since 2009.

Phone numbers, email ID and addresses of at least 1.5 million students are available for a price, although it isn’t clear how this happened.

CBSE Class 12 students during the board exams at an exam centre in Blue Bells Model School, Gurgaon. (HT File Photo)

For between Rs1,000 and Rs60,000 it is possible to get information on at least 1.5 million students who appeared for examinations of several types since 2009.

From the datasheets—samples are available for free—on websites such as studentsdatabase.in, kenils.co.in, and allstudentdatabase.in, it is clear that the students whose information is being sold have appeared for MBA entrance tests (CAT, MAT, MBA CET, CMAT, XAT, and others), some engineering and medical entrance tests, Class X or Class XII board examinations (only some boards), or final year examinations at some universities (Lucknow, Pune).

The source of this data isn’t clear, although there are several possible ones: the board, university or body in-charge of the examination; or the ubiquitous prep schools that prepare students for these tests.

The information available is exhaustive: student name, score, percentile, gender, category, complete address, mobile number, and email ID. Some of that is unlikely to change, making even older data valuable.