More and more parents are giving their children little trackers when they leave the house. They can be used to determine the location of the children in an emergency. Often, the devices offer a kind of emergency call function, which connects the children directly to their parents cell phones.
The SMA-WATCH-M2 Smartwatch Works In A Similar Way
The colorful device can send the location of the children live to the parents with the app. Name, address, age, images and voice messages are also linked to the associated online account. This makes it easy for parents to keep in touch with their offspring at all times.
All Personal Data And The Location Are Visible
An analysis of the security experts shows shocking facts: If there are glaring security deficiencies, all this sensitive data can be viewed by attackers worldwide.
In addition, due to the insufficient protection of data for third parties, it is also possible to lock the parents out of the account, to pretend to be themselves and to contact the children through the app. Attackers can also log in to the regular app for permanent access.
Problematic Smartwatches From China
Experts are currently warning of a smartwatch from China: Sensitive data from more than 5000 children were unprotected and unencrypted on the company’s servers. Name, pictures, address or the current location, all this information was visible to a team of experts from the institute. In addition, unauthorized third parties could take over accounts with comparatively simple means and thus hijack the parent app. So they could see the location of the children or contact them.
If you absolutely want to buy such a smartwatch for your child, you should first compare the terms and conditions, terms of use and data protection declarations with different manufacturers.