Mobile Guardian incidents: MOE takes legal action against contractors

13,000 learning devices lost data in August cyber attack; new app expected by Jan 2025

- Gabrielle Chan

A new application to manage the use of students' devices is slated to be rolled out by January 2025, after the Ministry of Education (MOE) stopped using the Mobile Guardian app in all students' iPads and Chromebooks.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing told Parliament on Sept 10 that legal action has been taken against contractors involved in various incidents related to Mobile Guardian in 2024.

He said his ministry is studying options for an alternative device management application (DMA), and will work towards rolling it out by the new school year.

Mr Chan said that about one in six of the 13,000 affected devices lost some data owing to a cyber-security breach in August. Of the devices that lost data, less than 5 per cent were unable to recover the lost data as it had not been backed up.

Mr Chan said adjustments were made for fewer than 60 students taking national exams, as some of their preparatory work for a particular subject was done on their iPads.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) said the Mobile Guardian incident affected the coursework of 52 O-level art students.

"Candidates lost parts of their coursework to varying degrees, mainly because their work that was saved in an application for digital art was not backed up," SEAB said, adding that students can apply for special consideration through their schools.

For students not taking national exams, adjustments were also made according to their schools' needs, Mr Chan said, responding to supplementary questions by Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC) on whether the results of affected students' exams would be moderated.

In response to queries, MOE said it stopped using Mobile Guardian's services as of end-August 2024. Mobile Guardian is a DMA that helps parents manage their children's device use by restricting screen time and access to specific websites and apps.