HITS Student Receives NASA Recognition for Identifying Critical Email Vulnerability "I'm motivated by the chance to safeguard the integrity of important data. It's rewarding to know I can contribute to protecting organizations that play a crucial role in global systems," said Magashwarahan
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Magashwarahan, a final-year BCA student at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS), has received international recognition from NASA for identifying and reporting a critical vulnerability in the agency's email system. NASA's Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP) acknowledged his contribution with an official appreciation letter for helping secure sensitive systems.
The vulnerability, detected in NASA's Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), stemmed from a misconfiguration that could have exposed sensitive data and mission-critical operations. Magashwarahan, who discovered the flaw during a search for misconfiguration issues, reported it through Bugcrowd, NASA's official vulnerability disclosure platform. "I discovered the bug while searching for misconfiguration issues, and once I identified the vulnerability, I knew it had to be reported to avoid any potential exploitation," he explained.
Dr. Anand Jacob Verghese, Chancellor of HITS, commended Magashwarahan for the achievement. "We are incredibly proud of Magashwarahan for this accomplishment. It highlights the exceptional skills and dedication our students demonstrate in the field of cybersecurity," he said.
Magashwarahan's journey into cybersecurity began with ethical hacking efforts aimed at identifying vulnerabilities in NASA's subdomains. His discovery of the SMTP flaw came after successfully accessing the email server and realizing the potential risk. "I'm motivated by the chance to safeguard the integrity of important data. It's rewarding to know I can contribute to protecting organizations that play a crucial role in global systems," he said.
Beyond NASA, Magashwarahan is interested in targeting high-profile organizations like the United Nations and Fortune 500 companies, while emphasizing the universal need for cybersecurity. "Cybersecurity is essential, not optional, for every organization," he noted.
