Singapore's education ministry terminates contract with Mobile Guardian after cybersecurity breaches

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) has terminated its contract with device management app Mobile Guardian, which suffered two major cybersecurity breaches earlier this year, a source within the ministry told CNA. 

MOE is looking at other options, the source added.

In response to CNA's queries, MOE said the matter will be addressed this week. Mobile Guardian did not respond to queries.

The most recent breach on Aug 4 affected about 13,000 users from 26 secondary schools in Singapore.

Students had their personal learning devices wiped remotely by hackers and could not access their apps and information stored in them - including lesson notes and practice papers.

At the time, many of them were worried about losing access to their notes with the exams looming. 

The day after the incident, MOE said it would remove the Mobile Guardian app from all students' iPads and Chromebooks as a precaution. 

Given that the app allows parents to manage students’ device usage by restricting applications or websites and screen time, a guide was issued to parents detailing how parental controls could be set up even without the app. 

ISSUE TO BE RAISED IN PARLIAMENT

The incident in August followed a major data leak in April, where information of parents and staff from 127 schools were compromised. 

The Mobile Guardian breach will be among the topics raised when parliament sits from Monday (Sep 9). Eight MPs filed several questions requesting updates on investigations. 

For instance, MP Patrick Tay (PAP-Pioneer) asked MOE for details on what it is doing to help students who have had their study notes wiped out.

MP Lim Wee Kiak (PAP-Sembawang)  asked if “targeted support” is being offered to affected students experiencing distress, particularly those with existing mental health conditions. 

Ms Sheena Kasturi, whose son in Secondary 1 used Mobile Guardian daily as part of his school curriculum, said: "When the issue came about, the iPad was totally not useable in school so he couldn't log in. He couldn't get anything done on his iPad," she said.

With help from the school’s IT department, the teenager managed to save the notes he had written onto a thumb drive.

While the school temporarily did away with learning via a device, it eventually provided Ms Sheena's son with an iPad that did not have the app installed, she said.

There were no disruptions in the curriculum, she noted. 

"The school did follow up with the parents ... reminding us that this incident has happened, (and that) the Mobile Guardian will be removed 'so please monitor your child's screen time, the activities, the websites that they are visiting'," she said. 

STUDENTS USE OTHER APPS

One teacher from an affected school told CNA on condition of anonymity that many students found their devices wiped. 

The teacher said the school has no plans to find a replacement for Mobile Guardian. CNA understands that some students are currently using third-party apps like Goodnotes to take notes and are backing them up regularly. 

Experts previously said government agencies likely did perform the necessary due diligence before deciding to sign a contract with Mobile Guardian. 

Ms Sheena said she believes that MOE will find a more secure and reliable option for students. However, she added that parents have a part to play in monitoring their children’s device usage.