In response to a global cybersecurity incident, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will remove the Mobile Guardian application from students’ personal learning devices. The breach impacted around 13,000 secondary school students across 26 schools in Singapore, whose devices were remotely wiped by the attacker.

Mobile Guardian is a device management tool used on students’ iPads and Chromebooks, allowing parents to restrict apps, manage websites, and control screen time. Late on Sunday night, the MOE received reports from schools that some students could no longer access their applications or data stored on these devices.

MOE Responds to Cybersecurity Threat

On Monday (Aug 5), the MOE released a statement confirming it had quickly raised concerns with Mobile Guardian after the issue was reported. The investigation revealed that a global cybersecurity breach had affected users around the world, including those in Singapore.

Mobile Guardian detected suspicious activity on its platform around 10pm Singapore time on Sunday. The breach allowed unauthorized access to iOS and ChromeOS devices globally, affecting users in regions like North America, Europe, and Singapore. While some devices were remotely wiped and unenrolled, Mobile Guardian assured that there was no evidence of data theft or unauthorized access to personal information.

Mobile Guardian has since suspended its services to prevent further incidents.

MOE’s Precautionary Measures

To safeguard students, MOE decided to remove the Mobile Guardian app from all iPads and Chromebooks used in learning. Restoration efforts are already underway to return these devices to normal functionality. In addition, MOE is considering alternative solutions to manage students’ device usage and ensure uninterrupted learning.

The ministry also clarified that this breach is unrelated to the technical difficulties students experienced in late July, which were caused by a configuration error on Mobile Guardian’s part.

Supporting Affected Students

MOE acknowledged the concerns raised by students and parents over the incident. To address this, MOE is working with schools to offer additional support. IT teams are being deployed to assist with restoring devices, and extra learning resources are being made available to minimize the impact on students’ education.

This event follows a previous incident in April, where personal data of parents and staff from 127 schools was exposed through a security breach involving Mobile Guardian.