Mobile Guardian Security Incident Affects Thousands of Student Devices
The British company Mobile Guardian has acknowledged a security incident on its systems, which resulted in unauthorized access to iOS and ChromeOS devices, rendering them temporarily unavailable. In Singapore, the incident led to data deletion on 13,000 devices and the termination of a contract with the Ministry of Education.
Mobile Guardian is renowned for its device management solutions, web filtering, and classroom activity monitoring, tailored for the education sector. According to the company, the attack affected only a small percentage of devices, causing their exclusion from the management system and resulting in data deletion. Despite assurances of user data security, clients in Europe and North America are also at risk.
The Singapore Ministry of Education, which has collaborated with Mobile Guardian since 2020, confirmed the data deletion for 13,000 students. As a precautionary measure, the ministry has ordered the removal of the company’s software from school devices and is considering alternative data protection methods.
To ensure the uninterrupted operation of educational institutions, the ministry has also deployed additional mobile IT teams to assist schools and students. The ministry emphasized that the incident has naturally caused concern and anxiety among students and their parents.
Both the Ministry of Education and Mobile Guardian have confirmed that the cyberattack was not related to a configuration issue. Representatives from Mobile Guardian and the Singapore Ministry of Education assured that all possible measures are being taken to mitigate the incident’s consequences and prevent such occurrences in the future.
