Picture: Boksburg Advertiser
The Department of Basic Education had confirmed a possible breach of matric exam results but assured South Africans that it would not affect the “integrity of the results.”
This comes after Johannesburg company Edumarks allegedly enticed matric learners to pay R100 to get their results early.
Minister Siviwe Gwarube updated the media on the possible breach of the results on Monday.
“It became clear to us, about 48 hours ago, that there is a potential breach in our information. What that means is that there are multiple steps in the putting and compiling together of the matric results.
“The breach seems to have happened only at the tail end that pertains to verified results that have already been verified. The reason why I make that distinction clear is so that it can be clear to everybody— we are talking about the results themselves that very well may have been leaked,” Gwarube said.
Gwarube said the State Security Agency and the Hawks will join the department in investigating the leak.
“I’m not able to say definitively if in fact the results have been leaked because we have enlisted the services of the Hawks and State Security. We are grateful to them for being able to step in as quickly as possible to try and assist us in terms of a speedy investigation.”
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Gwarube said the possible breach of the matric results is “extremely serious.”
“If there has been a breach in our system, there are two processes we need to follow. We need to determine as the DBE — are our systems secure and airtight enough? As you recall, once we compile the results, we have to share our results with certain stakeholders so that they can start getting ready with their processes. So there is a real possibility there may have been a breach in that process,” Gwarube said.
“We are under the leadership of the DG [Director-General] going to launch an investigation because it’s absolutely critical that this process be as airtight as possible. So, if the breach has come from the DBE side, we will be investigating and consequence management will follow.
“However, if this is, as we may suspect, the result of a cybercrime, then this is why State Security and the Hawks have become involved. The reason why we have not been able to speak about the matter for the last 48 hours is because the Hawks have indicated that their investigation is at an advanced stage,” Gwarube said.
Without naming any specific results platform, Gwarubesaid there is a platform that” has been selling what they called authentic matric results to learners”.
“They have been preying on innocent learners and siphoning them of money. So, we take this very seriously and this is why the cybercrime unit of the Hawks has been enlisted.”
Gwarube said the matric results have been “absolutely insulated” from any manipulation.
“Whatever breach may have been, it would have been at the tail-end of the verified, and that becomes extremely important as we deal with this.
“I can assure you, that as we go through the next couple of days, we will make sure that something like this is dealt with, we [want] an arrest to be made, and we are confident that the law enforcement agencies are moving at pace to make sure that an arrest is made,” Gwarube said.
Eduamarks drew criticism and outrage recently when it advertised that it would make results available to the class of 2024 for a fee.
It claims to release results including subjects and percentages.
The company, which has been in operation since 2022, said results are delivered via email with a 100% money-back guarantee if they cannot be retrieved.
ALSO READ: Matric results: Candidates reminded to fetch their NSC statements from designated exam centres
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