- How Hackers Breach CBT Centres’ Servers for Candidates
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Hackers breached CBT centres’ servers with insider support during 2025 UTME.
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JAMB confirmed 6,458 candidates under investigation for exam malpractice.
Fresh revelations have exposed how some Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres accredited by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) allegedly colluded with hackers to compromise the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that investigations showed that some centre operators supplied hackers with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, granting them remote access to servers. This allowed hired mercenaries to answer questions for candidates outside exam halls. One hacker, identified as Ahmed, disclosed that candidates were often logged out deliberately, while mercenaries completed their exams remotely. Once logged back in, candidates only needed to submit the already completed test.
The revelations followed mass failures in the 2025 UTME, where 1.5 million out of 1.9 million candidates scored below 200. The crisis forced JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, to publicly admit technical failures. By August, the board confirmed that 6,458 candidates were under investigation for technology-enabled malpractice.
Security agencies have arrested at least 20 suspects linked to server breaches, while JAMB set up a 23-member Special Committee on Examination Infraction to probe the scandal. Reports revealed that states like Anambra, Imo, Abia, and Edo were among the worst hit, with 19 centres blacklisted.
Education experts said the malpractice would be impossible without insider involvement. An education consultant in Lagos stressed that “millions of naira exchange hands,” with parents funding fraudulent guarantees of success. A CBT operator also admitted some centres knowingly allowed their servers to be compromised due to profits.
However, JAMB’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, dismissed claims of hacking its central system, explaining that only local centre servers were compromised in connivance with operators. He insisted JAMB’s platform is secure and not internet-enabled.
Hackers breached CBT centres’ servers with insider support during 2025 UTME
Stakeholders urged JAMB to strengthen its system, address loopholes, and ensure innocent centres are not blacklisted due to technical glitches.
