IBCC Suspends Certificate Verification Nationwide After Cybersecurity Warning
By Tanveer Ahmed :
The Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) has temporarily suspended the verification of matriculation and intermediate certificates across Pakistan following a cybersecurity advisory issued after recent cyberattacks targeting government and media websites.
Officials said the precautionary measure was taken after guidance from the National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), which urged institutions to strengthen digital security systems following hacking attempts on several government portals and television channels in recent days.
As a result, the verification of matriculation and intermediate certificates, along with the equivalence and verification process for O Level and A Level qualifications, has been halted nationwide. Other online verification services have also been disrupted.
Students facing difficulties
Sources within the IBCC said the suspension has created difficulties for thousands of students across major cities including Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Islamabad who require certificate verification for academic or professional purposes.
The disruption has particularly affected students applying to universities abroad, as the verification and equivalence services required for international admissions are currently unavailable.
Officials noted that manual verification and equivalence procedures had already been discontinued earlier, making it impossible for the organisation to revert to the previous system during the current outage.
Portal restricted to read-only mode
Meanwhile, the IBCC has placed its verification and equivalence portal in “read-only mode.”
Under the current arrangement, only previously registered users can log in to check the status of their existing applications, while the system is temporarily not accepting any new requests.
Efforts underway to restore services
Responding to queries, IBCC Executive Director Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah said the organisation was working to restore access to the portal for users within Pakistan.
However, he confirmed that overseas applicants would not be able to submit new verification or equivalence applications through the online system for the time being.
Officials said the suspension will remain in place until cybersecurity risks are fully assessed and the digital platform is secured against potential threats.
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