Mobile Guardian Device Management Application to be Removed from Personal Learning Devices

On 4 August 2024 late night, the Ministry of Education (MOE) was alerted by schools that some students who use iPads or Chromebooks as personal learning devices were unable to access their applications and information stored in their devices.

2. MOE immediately registered strong concerns with mobile device management company Mobile Guardian. Mobile Guardian’s investigations found that there had been a global cybersecurity incident involving unauthorised access to its platform that affected their customers globally, including those in Singapore. Based on preliminary checks, about 13,000 students in Singapore from 26 secondary schools had their devices wiped remotely by the perpetrator. There is currently no evidence that the perpetrator had accessed user files.

3. This security incident on 4 August is not related to the earlier technical issues faced by students in end July 2024. Mobile Guardian’s investigations have revealed that the July incident, which led to some students across numerous schools experiencing issues connecting to the Internet and/or receiving error messages, was due to a human error in configuration by Mobile Guardian.

4. As a precautionary measure, MOE will remove the Mobile Guardian Device Management Application from all iPads and Chromebooks. Efforts are underway to safely restore these devices to normal usage. MOE is considering other mitigating measures to regulate device usage to support learning during this period.

5. We understand that students are naturally concerned and anxious about the incident. MOE is working with schools to support affected students, including deploying additional IT roving teams to schools and providing additional learning resources.