IEEE - 61001

Blockchain-Enabled Examination Platform: A

2024 15th International Conference on Computing Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT) | 979-8-3503-7024-9/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICCCNT61001.2024.10725734

Secure Approach for Academic Assessments

Sahil Kadam Mahesh Kothalkar Prof. Dayanand Ambawade
Department of Computer Engineering Department of Computer Engineering Associate Professor
Sardar Patel Institute of Technology Sardar Patel Institute of Technology Department of CSE
Mumbai, India Mumbai, India Sardar Patel Institute of Technology
[Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link] Mumbai, India
dd ambawade@[Link]

Abstract—Traditional examination systems are riddled with prone to errors and inefficiencies, further exacerbating the
challenges such as lack of transparency, susceptibility to fraud, challenges faced by existing examination systems.
and concerns regarding data security. Instances of unauthorized
access, tampering, or manipulation of examination records raise
doubts about the reliability and credibility of assessment out- To address these pressing issues, this paper proposes
comes. Moreover, the centralized storage of sensitive informa- a blockchain-based examination platform that aims to
tion exposes vulnerabilities to data breaches and compromises enhance the security, reliability, and efficiency of examination
student privacy. To mitigate these issues, this paper proposes a processes. By utilizing blockchain technology, the proposed
blockchain-based examination platform. The platform aims to platform provides a secure, transparent, and efficient
provide a user-friendly web application that seamlessly interacts
with users, ensuring easy navigation and accessibility for different alternative to existing examination systems. The proposed
roles. It seeks to overcome the limitations of traditional systems system is primarily designed to facilitate Multiple Choice
by securely storing exam question data in encrypted form, Question (MCQ) examinations or Quizzes but can be easily
leveraging blockchain technology to provide immutability, trans- extended for conducting subjective-type examinations as
parency, and verifiability of system activities. Furthermore, the well. The platform’s key features include a user-friendly
proposed system intends to automate examination administration
tasks such as registration, scheduling, and result dissemination, interface for seamless interaction with the proposed system,
thereby reducing manual efforts and potential errors. This ensuring ease of use for all stakeholders. It also ensures
paper discusses the design and implementation of the proposed secure storage and integrity of quiz data through encryption
blockchain-based examination platform, highlighting its poten- techniques, protecting it from unauthorized access or
tial to address the challenges faced by traditional examination tampering. The platform maintains transparent records of
systems and improve the overall examination experience for
stakeholders. system activities, including uploads and modifications,
Keywords—Blockchain, Ethereum, Decentralized applica- providing a clear audit trail for examination processes.
tion, IPFS, Encryption, Examination platform Additionally, it authenticates users securely to verify
their identities and implements appropriate access control
I. I NTRODUCTION measures, ensuring that only authorized personnel have
Online examination systems have been fundamental to access to sensitive information. The platform is designed
educational institutions globally but encounter significant to be scalable, and capable of accommodating a large
challenges that impact their reliability and credibility in number of users and simultaneous access requests without
real-world scenarios. Issues such as lack of transparency, compromising performance. Furthermore, it automates
susceptibility to fraud, and data security concerns are examination administration tasks such as registration,
prevalent, with instances of unauthorized access to scheduling, and result dissemination, reducing manual efforts
examination records, tampering with results, or manipulation and potential errors.
of grades not uncommon. These incidents not only raise
doubts about the fairness and accuracy of assessment This research explores the development of a novel
outcomes but also erode trust among students, educators, and blockchain-based examination platform designed to address
institutions. the limitations of current examination methods. Following the
literature review, a detailed description of the proposed system
Moreover, the centralized storage of sensitive information architecture is presented, outlining its core components and
in existing online examination systems poses a serious risk of functionalities. This detailed explanation is further substanti-
data breaches, compromising student privacy and potentially ated by a dedicated section on implementation, which delves
leading to far-reaching consequences. Additionally, the into the specific technologies employed, the smart contract
manual nature of many examination administration tasks, implementation details, and the various system workflows. To
such as registration, scheduling, and result dissemination, is evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system, the paper

15th ICCCNT IEEE Conference,

June 24-28,
Authorized licensed use limited to: BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 2024, on March 25,2025 at [Link] UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Downloaded
IIT - Mandi, Kamand, India
 IEEE - 61001

then presents the results and discussion section which explores in academic assessments. Their proposed framework utilizes
the performance and security aspects of the system. Finally, the a peer-to-peer examination system on a public blockchain
paper concludes by summarizing key findings and outlining to tackle vulnerabilities like score manipulation and lack of
future research directions. credibility in traditional systems. This decentralized approach
leverages a vote-based consensus mechanism to ensure the
II. L ITERATURE R EVIEW integrity of recorded exam data on the blockchain.
Abdelsalam et al. [1] address data security concerns in
online exams by proposing a blockchain-integrated Moodle Samanta et al. [14] analyze existing research on smart
LMS system with auto-grading. Recognizing limitations of contracts for secure online exams in universities. Their review
centralized storage, they leverage blockchain technology to highlights challenges like security, privacy, and scalability,
create a secure and transparent system for storing exam data. and categorizes existing contracts by design (application-
The effectiveness of this approach in enhancing exam security specific, model-based, tool-design). This analysis emphasizes
and reliability is validated through a case study. the growing need for secure online exams as universities
manage increasing student populations.
Jain et al. [2] propose a blockchain-based online exam
system for enhanced security and transparency. They leverage Zhu et al. [15] address security concerns in online ex-
smart contracts for secure exam processes (registration, fee ams with a multi-layered system combining biometrics and
payment) and store transaction hashes in a shared, accessible blockchain. DES encryption and Reed-Solomon codes ensure
ledger. This decentralized approach mitigates cloud-based data confidentiality and integrity, while blockchain offers
system vulnerabilities and promotes trust through tamper- tamper-proof storage. This comprehensive approach caters to
proof data storage. the specific security concerns of all stakeholders: teachers
(exam content protection), students (exam authenticity and
Sattar et al. [3] address pandemic-era challenges in online privacy), and platforms (secure exam administration). The
exams by leveraging blockchain and AI. Their system system further bolsters security with advanced biometric pri-
prioritizes security and integrity through AI-powered features vacy techniques and fine-grained access control, ensuring only
like face recognition, 360° monitoring for cheating detection, authorized users can access exam information.
and noise control. Additionally, it employs conventional
security measures like IP-based login, question shuffling, and III. P ROPOSED S YSTEM
plagiarism checks. To solidify trust and security, the system
utilizes blockchain technology for tamper-proof storage of
exam results.

Kalkar et al. [4] emphasize the need for robust and

secure online examination systems. Their work focuses on
the vulnerabilities of traditional online exams, particularly
in areas like user authentication, exam proctoring, and
maintaining confidentiality of both exam content and student
results. The authors highlight the importance of addressing
these security gaps and privacy concerns, stressing their
relevance not just during pandemics but for the future of
online education.

Islam et al. [5] introduce BSSSQS, a blockchain scheme for

secure question sharing in education. It employs two-phase
encryption, randomized paper selection, and tamper-proof
storage with smart contract-controlled unlocking on the
blockchain. Timestamp-based locks prevent premature Fig. 1. System Architecture
decryption of papers. The authors also conduct a comparative
study with existing systems [6] - [12]. The comparison Fig. 1 illustrates the architecture of our proposed system.
evaluates features such as secure login, question paper The system leverages the Ethereum blockchain to ensure
generation, encryption, selection, and timestamp locks, secure examination delivery and tamper-proof record keeping.
highlighting the superior security and functionality of the The main entities participating in the system include:
proposed BSSSQS scheme.
A. Users:
Acharya et al. [13] explore the potential of blockchain • Admin: Admin is an entity responsible for managing the
technology to improve security, integrity, and transparency participants (students and teachers) of their organization

15th ICCCNT IEEE Conference,

June 24-28,
Authorized licensed use limited to: BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 2024, on March 25,2025 at [Link] UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Downloaded
IIT - Mandi, Kamand, India
 IEEE - 61001

on the system. While not directly involved in core system

functionalities, the admin possesses the authority to add
or remove participants as necessary. Additionally, the
admin is equipped with an Ethereum account, through
which all the smart contract calls are performed.

• Teacher: The teacher is responsible for conducting

examinations on the system. Within each course,
teachers can schedule quizzes, with all associated data
securely recorded on the blockchain. Furthermore,
teachers have access to view the grades of all students
enrolled in their respective courses.

• Student: Students form an integral component of Fig. 2. Tech Stack

the system, actively engaging in scheduled quizzes.
They have the autonomy to enroll in various courses
and partake in quizzes hosted within these courses. 1) [Link]: [Link] is a JavaScript runtime environment
Additionally, students can monitor their individual that utilizes Chrome’s V8 engine to execute Javascript
progress within the system, allowing for enhanced code on the server side.
self-assessment and academic tracking.
2) [Link]: [Link] is a web framework designed for
[Link], used for API and web application development.
B. System components:
• Database: It is used for storing user information 3) [Link]: [Link] is a powerful JavaScript library
(credentials, profiles) alongside non-sensitive for building reusable UI components and dynamic
examination data like course details, quiz metadata, and user interfaces, particularly suited for single-page
student enrollment information. applications.

• Key Management Module: Hashicorp Vault acts as a 4) MongoDB: MongoDB is a NoSQL database that
Key Management module by securely generating and utilizes a JSON-like format for storing data. It’s
managing encryption keys. These keys are used for employed in our system for storing various types of
encrypting/decrypting sensitive data like examination data, such as user data, course data, quiz metadata, etc.
data in the system.
5) Ethereum: Ethereum is a blockchain platform enabling
• IPFS (InterPlanetary File System): IPFS serves as decentralized applications and smart contracts, utilizing
the primary storage solution for the system’s encrypted its native cryptocurrency, Ether. During development,
examination data, encompassing questions and answers, we utilize Ganache as a local Ethereum blockchain
as well as unencrypted result data. simulator for testing smart contracts and interactions.
For deployment, we leverage the Sepolia Testnet
• Ethereum Blockchain: The system engages with the to deploy and test smart contracts in a real-world
Ethereum blockchain to perform diverse smart contract environment without incurring actual costs on the main
functions. These functions encompass adding quiz data Ethereum network.
to the blockchain, retrieving quiz data from it, publishing
result data, and querying result data. It is important to 6) IPFS (InterPlanetary File System): IPFS is a
note that the blockchain exclusively stores references decentralized protocol facilitating file storage and
(hashes) to the data stored on IPFS and not the actual sharing over the internet through a peer-to-peer
data. network. In our system, IPFS is used for storing the
encrypted Question and Answer documents as well as
(unencrypted) Result documents. We use Pinata as an
IV. I MPLEMENTATION IPFS client for uploading data to and fetching data
from IPFS.

7) Hashicorp Vault: Vault is a tool used for securely

A. Technologies used managing secrets and sensitive data. It provides a
The Tech Stack used for this project includes: centralized solution for storing credentials, API keys,
and other secrets, with features like encryption, access

15th ICCCNT IEEE Conference,

June 24-28,
Authorized licensed use limited to: BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 2024, on March 25,2025 at [Link] UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Downloaded
IIT - Mandi, Kamand, India
 IEEE - 61001

control, and auditing. In our system, it is utilized for

generating and managing encryption keys securely. The
generated keys are of type aes256-gcm, which utilizes
the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm
with a 256-bit key length, combined with GCM
(Galois/Counter Mode) for authenticated encryption
and data integrity assurance. These encryption keys
are used for encrypting/decrypting the Question and
Answer documents.

B. Smart Contract Implementation

Fig. 4. Smart Contract for Exam Platform - 2

• quizzes: A mapping that associates unique quiz IDs

with their corresponding Quiz structs.
• results: Another mapping associating unique result
IDs with their corresponding ExamResult structs.

3) Functionality:
• createQuiz: A function enabling the contract owner
Fig. 3. Smart Contract for Exam Platform - 1 to upload new quizzes by specifying a unique quiz
ID along with IPFS hashes for the questions and
Figures 3 and 4 display screenshots showcasing the smart answers. This function ensures the uniqueness of
contract developed in Solidity language for our system. This quiz IDs and emits an event upon successful quiz
smart contract defines a platform for managing quizzes and creation.
their results on the Ethereum blockchain. The key features of • publishResult: A function that allows the contract
the smart contract are as follows: owner to publish exam results by providing a unique
result ID along with the IPFS hash of the exam
1) Structures: result. Similar to createQuiz, this function ensures
The contract comprises two structs: the Quiz struct result ID uniqueness and emits an event upon suc-
and the ExamResult struct, representing quizzes and cessful result publication.
exam results, respectively. These structs encapsulate the • getQuizQuestions and getQuizAnswers: Func-
essential attributes of each entity. tions enabling the retrieval of IPFS hashes for
the questions and answers of a specific quiz, re-
2) State Variables: spectively. These functions enforce access control,
• owner: An Ethereum address representing the allowing only the contract owner to retrieve quiz
owner (deployer) of the contract, initialized during content.
contract deployment. • getResult: A function permitting anyone to retrieve

15th ICCCNT IEEE Conference,

June 24-28,
Authorized licensed use limited to: BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 2024, on March 25,2025 at [Link] UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Downloaded
IIT - Mandi, Kamand, India
 IEEE - 61001

the IPFS hash of an exam result using its unique

ID. Access to this function is unrestricted.

4) Access Control:
The contract employs the ’onlyOwner’ modifier to
restrict access to certain functions, such as createQuiz
and publishResult, ensuring that only the contract
owner can perform critical operations like uploading
quizzes and publishing results. This access control
mechanism enhances security and prevents unauthorized
modifications to quiz and result data.

5) Event Emittance:
The contract emits events (quizUploaded and
resultPublished) upon the successful creation of
quizzes and publication of exam results, respectively.
These events facilitate off-chain tracking of contract
interactions and provide transparency regarding the Fig. 5. Workflow 1 - Quiz Creation
state changes within the contract.
an encryption key is generated using the Vault server. Both
the Question and Answer documents are encrypted separately
6) Deployment: using this encryption key. The encrypted documents are then
Upon deployment, the contract initializes the owner uploaded onto IPFS. Corresponding IPFS hashes are obtained
variable with the Ethereum address of the deploying and recorded on the Ethereum blockchain for auditability.
entity, granting them exclusive control over contract
management operations. The admin entity in the system 2. Quiz Attempt
is provided with an Ethereum address which is used
for deploying this smart contract. This makes admin
the owner of the contract thus enabling access to
owner-restricted function calls such as createQuiz and
publishResult.

7) Integration with IPFS:

The contract integrates with the InterPlanetary File Sys-
tem (IPFS) to securely store quiz questions, answers,
and exam results off-chain. By storing content on IPFS
and referencing its hashes on the blockchain, the con-
tract ensures efficient data storage and retrieval while
maintaining data integrity and resilience.

C. System workflows
1. Quiz Creation

Fig. 5 showcases the Quiz Creation workflow. The teacher

begins the Quiz Creation stage by logging into the system Fig. 6. Workflow 2 - Quiz Attempt
with valid credentials via a web application interface. Through
this interface, the teacher defines the quiz content, including Fig. 6 showcases the Quiz Attempt workflow. The student
questions, options, and correct answers. This data is formatted begins the process of attempting a quiz by logging into
as a JSON object and sent to the backend server. Upon receipt, the system with valid credentials. During the allocated
the backend server records essential quiz metadata in the examination period, the student requests to access and
database, such as the quiz’s start and end times, duration, attempt the quiz. Before proceeding, the system verifies
etc. The quiz data is then split into 2 JSON documents: that the quiz’s start time has passed. Once the validation is
(a) Questions document which stores quiz questions and complete, the server retrieves essential quiz data. It starts by
options and (b) Answers document which stores only the fetching the IPFS hash linked to the Questions document
correct answers for each question. To secure the quiz data, from the blockchain. Subsequently, the encrypted Questions

15th ICCCNT IEEE Conference,

June 24-28,
Authorized licensed use limited to: BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 2024, on March 25,2025 at [Link] UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Downloaded
IIT - Mandi, Kamand, India
 IEEE - 61001

document associated with the retrieved IPFS hash is obtained completed the examination on the platform without encoun-
from the IPFS network. To decrypt the encrypted quiz tering any operational issues. The system efficiently retrieved
content, a request is sent to the Vault server, which holds the encrypted quiz questions from IPFS, decrypted them using
decryption key. Utilizing this key, the encrypted Questions Vault’s service, and presented them to students without delay.
document is decrypted. The decrypted content, comprising Upon submission of the quiz, the system promptly generated
questions and options, is then sent to the student, enabling and securely uploaded the results to IPFS. Subsequently, all
them to attempt the quiz. students effortlessly accessed and reviewed their individual
results through the system interface, highlighting the seamless
3. Result Generation end-to-end functionality of the examination process.

B. Security analysis
The system implements various security measures ranging
from secure user authentication to secure storage of docu-
ments and robust access control measures. Only registered
participants (students and teachers) can access the system,
with registration managed exclusively by the admin. The
smart contract is designed in a way that only the contract’s
owner can execute functions inside it. This is enforced using
the ’onlyOwner’ modifier which only allows the contract’s
owner to execute certain contract functions. To designate
the admin as the contract owner, an Ethereum account is
provided, and the contract is deployed through this account.
All the smart contract interactions in the system have to be
performed using this account. So the account’s private key is
required on the server and must be stored securely. However,
storing the key directly on the server poses security risks
Fig. 7. Workflow 3 - Result Generation and therefore, to mitigate this, we use Vault for storing the
key securely. Quiz data (questions and answers) is encrypted,
Fig. 7 showcases the Result Generation workflow. The result with encryption keys generated during quiz creation and stored
generation phase initiates upon the student’s submission of securely in Vault. Additionally, the system enforces a critical
quiz responses to the backend server. Upon receiving the condition wherein the created quiz remains inaccessible until
submitted responses, the server proceeds to retrieve the IPFS the scheduled start time. This condition is enforced by the
hashes associated with the encrypted Question and Answer backend server and it ensures that no one has access to the quiz
documents from the blockchain. Subsequently, the encrypted until the quiz’s start time. Finally, the underlying blockchain
Question and Answer documents corresponding to the re- technology ensures the data’s immutability, reinforcing both
trieved IPFS hashes are fetched from the IPFS network. A its integrity and authenticity.
decryption request is then dispatched to the Vault server
to decrypt these documents. Following decryption, a result VI. C ONCLUSION
document is generated, and the student’s grade is automatically The proposed blockchain-based platform offers a secure
computed by comparing their responses to the correct quiz and transparent solution for conducting online examinations.
answers. Unlike the quiz content, encryption of the result doc- By leveraging blockchain, smart contracts, and encryption, it
ument is not necessary. Upon generation, the result document tackles issues like question paper leaks, data tampering, and
is uploaded onto IPFS. Additionally, certain result metadata unauthorized access. The decentralized nature fosters trust and
is recorded in the database, including a unique identifier ( id) reliability. This research establishes a foundation for secure
generated by MongoDB for this document. This id, serving as online examinations in the digital era. Future development
a unique result ID, is then stored on the blockchain alongside opportunities exist to further enhance the platform’s capabil-
the result document’s IPFS hash. ities. Expanding question formats and integrating a question
V. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION bank for random quiz generation would enhance assessments.
Exploring alternative blockchains like Hyperledger Besu for
A. Performance evaluation faster transaction speeds and potentially lower costs could im-
To assess the performance of our system, we conducted prove efficiency. Additionally, incorporating AI technologies
a live examination in our college laboratory involving 40 for advanced proctoring and plagiarism detection can further
students. The system achieved a 100% success rate during strengthen the platform’s security measures. By addressing
this test, demonstrating its reliability and robustness under these areas, the platform can evolve into a robust and widely
real-world conditions. All participants seamlessly accessed and adopted solution for secure and reliable examinations.

15th ICCCNT IEEE Conference,

June 24-28,
Authorized licensed use limited to: BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 2024, on March 25,2025 at [Link] UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Downloaded
IIT - Mandi, Kamand, India
 IEEE - 61001

R EFERENCES
[1] Abdelsalam, Mohamed, Amira M. Idrees, and Marwan Shokry. ”A
Proposed Model for Improving the Reliability of Online Exam Results
Using Blockchain.” IEEE Access (2023).
[2] Jain, Apoorv, et al. ”Smart contract enabled online examination system
based in blockchain network.” 2021 International Conference on Com-
puter Communication and Informatics (ICCCI). IEEE, 2021.
[3] Sattar, Md Rahat Ibne, et al. ”An advanced and secure framework for
conducting online examination using blockchain method.” Cyber Security
and Applications 1 (2023): 100005.
[4] KALKAR, ÖZNUR, and Isa Sertkaya. ”Permissioned Blockchain based
Remote Electronic Examination.” Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineer-
ing and Computer Sciences 30.2 (2022): 361-375.
[5] Islam, Anik, Md Fazlul Kader, and Soo Young Shin. ”BSSSQS: a
blockchain based smart and secured scheme for question sharing in the
smart education system.” arXiv preprint arXiv:1812.03917 (2018).
[6] Chang, Lu, and Xu Guang Ming. ”Application research of WEB exami-
nation system based on college.” Energy Procedia 17 (2012): 528-533.
[7] YILMAZ KAYA, B. U. R. C. U., Gokhan Kaya, and Metin Dagdeviren.
”A Sample Application of Web Based Examination System for Distance
and Formal Education.”
[8] Yang, Xing-dong. ”The Research on Online Examination System of PE
Theory Courses.” Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference of
Modern Computer Science and Applications. Springer Berlin Heidelberg,
2013.
[9] Lu, Huiqiang, and Ying Hu. ”The design and implementation of online
examination system based on J2EE.” 2012 International Conference on
Industrial Control and Electronics Engineering. IEEE, 2012.
[10] Zhai, Lang, and Ting Gong. ”The research of examination management
system based on network flat.” 2011 2nd International Conference on
Artificial Intelligence, Management Science and Electronic Commerce
(AIMSEC). IEEE, 2011.
[11] Henke, Karsten. ”Web-based test, examination and assessment system.”
Advanced Technology for Learning 4.3 (2007): 140-145.
[12] Younis, Mohammed Issam, and Maysam Sameer Hussein. ”Construction
of an online examination system with resumption and randomization
capabilities.” International Journal of Computing 4.2 (2015): 62-82.
[13] Acharya, Rahul, and Sumitra Binu. ”Blockchain based examination
system for effective evaluation and maintenance of examination records.”
International Journal of Engineering & Technology 7.2.6 (2018): 269.
[14] Samanta, Ashis Kumar, Bidyut Biman Sarkar, and Nabendu Chaki. ”A
blockchain-based smart contract towards developing secured university
examination system.” Journal of Data, Information and Management 3
(2021): 237-249.
[15] Zhu, Xiaoling, and Chenglong Cao. ”Secure online examination with
biometric authentication and blockchain-based framework.” Mathematical
Problems in Engineering 2021 (2021).

15th ICCCNT IEEE Conference,

June 24-28,
Authorized licensed use limited to: BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 2024, on March 25,2025 at [Link] UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Downloaded
IIT - Mandi, Kamand, India