MOE requests forensic investigation after data breach affecting 89,000 parents and school staff
SINGAPORE — The software company at the centre of a hacking incident in April has been asked by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to appoint a forensic investigator to evaluate its systems and processes, and provide recommendations to prevent a recurrence.
Preliminary investigations by Mobile Guardian, which is headquartered in Surrey, UK, show that an unauthorised individual had gained access to a support account on its management portal, using it to view information of customers based in the United States and Asia-Pacific region, including Singapore.
This affected about 67,000 parents and 22,000 school employees across 127 schools in Singapore, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing in a written parliamentary reply on May 7.
He was responding to questions by MPs Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang GRC), Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) and Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar GRC) about MOE's approach to ensuring the security and integrity of students' personal learning devices, as well as measures to protect against online harm and data breaches.