At a handful of schools in Victoria, the Department of Education is expanding its monitoring of internal communications from staff to students’ personal devices.
Zscaler SSL root certificates will be installed on not only school-provided devices, but also on students’ own devices if they connect locally to a school network, as a result of the extension.
The certificate allows for the decryption of student browser traffic for inspection while still appearing to the user as if they are protected by HTTPS.
Zscaler is disabled in circumstances where the device connects to the school’s network remotely, such as uploading an assignment from home, according to a Department representative.
However, the spokesperson refused to comment on whether Zscaler monitors staff traffic from home, or when the policy was first implemented.
“The Department employs the Zscaler programme as part of a cloud-based security measure when accessing the internet on all Department-owned computers and devices,” the spokeswoman added.
“This certificate serves as an added layer of protection by assisting in determining whether a website is safe to visit while utilising the school’s internet.”
“The Department’s first focus is the health and safety of all employees and students.” This includes being safe online.”