A man was implicated in a matric results breach.
Image: RON/AI
A 21-year-old man from Johannesburg, Gauteng, has been implicated in a serious breach involving matric results that were sold on Edumarks for R100 prior to their official release date.
Edumarks, which has reportedly been operating since 2021, claims a 97% accuracy rate for the marks sent to those wishing to gain early access to their results. The website has now gone defunct.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, said a complaint was lodged by the Department of Education on January 12, 2025, at Pretoria Central Police Station.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said they went to the suspect's home in Hillcrest, north of Johannesburg after a seizure warrant was approved.
"The Hawks proceeded to the identified premises where a 21-year-old young man and his parents are residing. During the search, various electronic gadgets and an unlicensed shotgun with live ammunition were found.
"The 21-year-old suspect will be detained for the unlawful possession of a firearm and further investigation into the matric result leakage will continue," said Mogale.
Before the results were released, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube confirmed that there have been a possible breach of the matric results for the class of 2024.
Gwarube said the potential breach may have occurred at the tail end of the verified results.
“We have become aware of a platform selling authentic matric results to learners and we have enlisted the services of the Hawks and the State Security to investigate the matter,” she said at the time.
She added that they suspected the breach may have originated either from within the department through the sharing of information with stakeholders, or it could have been a cyber-attack.
Gwarube said they will also be looking at whether their systems are tight enough.
“If the breach comes from DBE (Department of Basic Education), we under the leadership of the DG (Director-General), are going to launch an investigation, because it is absolutely critical that this process be as airtight as possible. If it comes from the DBE side we will be launching an investigation and consequence management will follow."
She added that if the breach comes from stakeholders, “we will tighten the systems there.”
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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