Galway university replaces maths exam after papers viewed online

NUI Galway (NUIG) has replaced a number of summer exam papers after students gained access to maths papers during an internet search.

The incident, which NUIG says occurred some weeks ago, has led to a review of the university’s information technology (IT) security system.

Up to 20 students are believed to have viewed the maths papers for semester two exams. NUIG is confident that the incident occurred during what sources describe as refined use of a well-known search engine, rather than due to hacking.

The papers had been uploaded on to the university’s internal server, which has protected storage that prevents it from being “googled”.

Word spread
After the papers were first inadvertently viewed, word of their availability "spread like wildfire", according to NUIG student sources. The more frequently access was then sought, the higher up the link appeared in search engine results.

It is understood that the university’s IT department became aware of the issue within several days, and the college authorities immediately withdrew the papers.

“NUIG replaced a number of exam papers as a precautionary measure,” the university said.

“The decision was prompted by inappropriate access to some exam papers which could ... have compromised the integrity of the exam process.”

The university students’ union has advised any students who believed they had the maths papers that all exam papers have been replaced.

The Department of Education said that while universities across the State share the same infrastructure through the Higher Education Authority’s internet system, they would not use the same software packages “as far it was aware”.