ICT Update — Steven Swarts, Head of Information Technology

This week has been an unusual one for our School community, and I wanted to take a moment to provide an overview of where things stand as we head into the weekend.

As many of you will be aware, earlier this week MLC School temporarily suspended access to Canvas – our learning management platform – as a precautionary measure taken on the advice of Australian government cyber security authorities. This decision was not made lightly, but the safety and security of our community is always our first priority. I want to be clear that this was not a breach of MLC School’s own systems. The issue originated with Instructure, the US-based company that operates Canvas globally, who experienced a cyber security incident affecting their platform.

I am pleased to report that Canvas has been fully restored and has been operational since Wednesday morning. Our team has been monitoring the platform very closely, and we are satisfied that it is safe for continued use. We will remain vigilant and keep a close eye on any further developments from Instructure as their investigation continues.

Please be more vigilant than usual

This is where I need to ask something important of every member of our community. Incidents of this nature can unfortunately lead to increased targeting by opportunistic scammers and cyber criminals. Using limited information they may scrape from internet sources such as names and email addresses, bad actors may attempt to craft convincing-looking emails or messages designed to trick you into clicking links, sharing personal details, or providing login credentials. This kind of activity – known as phishing – often spikes in the wake of widely-reported incidents, and our community should be more alert than usual in the coming weeks.

Please be especially cautious of any unexpected emails or messages that reference Canvas, Instructure, MLC School, Shiny Hunters or your child’s education – even if they appear to come from a legitimate source. Do not click links, do not open attachments, and do not provide any personal information unless you are absolutely certain of the sender’s identity.

If something doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts and report it. You can report suspicious activity to Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au) or the Australian Cyber Security Centre (cyber.gov.au/report), and forward suspicious emails directly to ReportCyber at cyber.gov.au. These are free government services available to everyone.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the ICT team at MLC School.

– Steve Swarts
Head of Information Technology