You would think it rather “normal” if people wanted to hack bank accounts credit cards or any other source that would give you accurate information and, above all, money. But what do you get if you hack a toy company’s app?
You would think it rather “normal” if people wanted to hack bank accounts credit cards or any other source that would give you accurate information and, above all, money. But what do you get if you hack a toy company’s app? It is one of the questions that parents had to ask themselves after VTech’s Learning Lodge has been hacked. Above all else, this looks like it is one of the greatest hacks to have ever been pulled off.
The stakes are rather high because, according to information released by IT specialists, this hack has exposed not only 5 million parents who were using it, but around 200, 000 children as well. The information that has been exposed does not involve any financial issues, but what is worrying is that all the details are rather personal and would not be shared by parents with just anybody.
We are only talking about customer full names, passwords, both home and email addresses. Hackers could also see these people’s children’s gender, name and birthdays. What is also important is that all children can be linked to their parents, so in case there is any foul interest in knowing who is who, the hackers will have no issue in putting all the pieces back together.
Awkwardly enough, the site known as Have I Been Pwned, a rather trustworthy site that deals with security information breeches and statistics, has declared that this hack is the fourth greatest hack that has ever been recorded in IT history.
What is also suspicious is that the one who hacked the application reached out to Motherboard and provided some of the files, just to make himself understood that there is no joke and that the deed is done. Motherboard then approached VTech and explained the situation.
When asked for the purpose of the hack, the hacker simply said “nothing”. Authorities, however, suspect that he might have sold the information to another customer. Nonetheless, the breach has left many parents no only wondering what do you get if you hack a toy company’s app, but fearing for the safety of their children. It is good to know that your money is safe and sound, but knowing that your child’ information is somewhere out there in who knows’ hands is not a comforting feeling at all.
Photo Credits: Flickr