Urgent- Seesaw

Dear Families,

We are writing to let you know about an incident that occurred related to Seesaw, the actions that were taken, and how seriously both St. Joseph’s and the entire Seesaw team takes this incident.

What happened

This morning, we learned that a link to an inappropriate message was being shared via the Messages feature within Seesaw. The Seesaw platform itself was not compromised, however specific individual user accounts were used to send this inappropriate message.

The incident was led by an outside actor (meaning that the inappropriate message was not created by the sender of the message or by the school). It occurred as a result of a coordinated external attempt to guess user account passwords associated with this group of user accounts.  

PLEASE NOTE THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED TO ANYONE IN OUR SCHOOL AND TO OUR KNOWLEDGE IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND.

What actions were taken

The Seesaw team has taken several immediate actions to contain and address this issue. Messages was turned OFF for all users while the issue was investigated. It will be enabled again only after taking the necessary actions to ensure the security of accounts. To learn more about the details of what action was taken, you can visit status.seesaw.me

We ask you to note that Seesaw is a world- wide used internet site.  This incident happened to a number of users in America.  We are asking you to be cautious around any online platform, including Seesaw.  Please be vigilant when your child is using the internet, social media or any online platform.  The information given below may be helpful, to ensure you keep your Seesaw account safe.  

Important information for you

● If your account was compromised, your password was reset and you have already received an email notifying you of this.

● It is essential that you always use best practices to ensure your password is secure.

● Seesaw takes protecting your security and privacy seriously and there are a number of measures in place to protect the integrity of your information. You can learn more here.

● We recommend that you refresh your web browser and if using Seesaw on a mobile device, you can update your device to the latest app version (version 8.1.2, released today) and re-launch Seesaw or close and re-open the Seesaw app (Here are instructions to close iOS and Android devices).

The safety and privacy of our children is our number one priority.  

Sincerely,

Miss Weir