Anti-cheating software system Proctorio failed to detect any cheaters when tested in a controlled environment, according to researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Asked to detect the six of 30 student computer science volunteers who had been instructed to cheat on a first-year exam supervised by Proctorio, some of whom had used virtual machines and audio calls - both known vulnerabilities to Proctorio’s system - the system had failed to catch a single cheater.

The researchers concluded that the system is 'best compared to taking a placebo: it has some positive influence, not because it works but because people believe that it works, or that it might work.'

The findings raise questions about Proctorio's effectiveness and value, and about the accuracy of its marketing claims.