A South African company, Edumarks, has gone offline after being exposed for allegedly selling leaked matric results for R100.
Edumarks servers placed on ‘hold’ as investigation heats up
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has confirmed an ongoing investigation into a potential data breach involving the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results, with suspicions of insider collusion.
Edumarks, reportedly active since 2022, marketed itself as a platform to help matriculants retrieve their results early.
Archived details from its now-defunct website reveal how the service worked:
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- Users had to register with their 13-digit exam number.
- Upon paying a R100 fee, users could receive their NSC results up to seven days before the official release.
The website criticised government systems for being inefficient, claiming:
“Our government’s websites do not function as they should due to a lack of resources… We will provide you with your full results.”
Edumarks boasted high accuracy rates, reporting 97% accuracy in 2024 for the class of 2023. However, it admitted to pulling results from DBE servers, suggesting unauthorised access.
The DBE described Edumarks as a “bogus business” and confirmed a criminal case has been opened, spearheaded by Hawks officials.
A GroundUp investigation revealed that Edumarks emailed accurate results for 2024 matriculants days before their official release.
The breach appears to stem from an insider leak. Matric marks are first sent to Universities in South Africa (USAf) for admissions processes and later shared with the media on the eve of the official release.
In this case, results were allegedly accessed during the USAf handover phase.
DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga stated:
“The Department is investigating the early and unauthorised access of the National Senior Certificate results data by a company.”
Edumarks has sparked outrage and concerns over the integrity of South Africa’s education system.
By treating matric results as a commodity, it undermines trust and exposes vulnerabilities in data-sharing processes.
Efforts are now underway to prevent future breaches, with calls for tighter access controls and accountability measures within the DBE and USAf.
