Kids’ smartwatches are meant to keep children safe, but hackers can turn them into stalking devices
A $30 kids' smartwatch let researchers secretly track a wearer's location, snap photos, and record audio, exposing a much larger flaw shared across dozens of GPS smartwatch brands worldwide.
Security researchers have demonstrated how hackers can exploit smartwatches designed for kids to monitor their wearers' activities without their knowledge. By exploiting a flaw in the SETracker platform used by several smartwatch brands, researchers were able to secretly take photos, listen through the device's microphone, and track the wearer's location.
This issue is not isolated to a single gadget but is a broader problem affecting many smartwatches and vehicle trackers built on shared supply chains. The researchers found that millions of smartwatches and vehicle trackers are built on just a handful of shared supply chains, meaning one security flaw can affect products sold under many different brand names.
This raises significant concerns about the safety and privacy of children using such devices, as well as the broader implications for other connected family devices.
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