Keeping tabs on your child is important now more than ever before. In this modern day of technology and gadgets, many parents choose to keep track of their kids with GPS trackers. The MiSafes smartwatch is one such device but it actually does more harm than good. Security researchers have discovered that the MiSafes smartwatch is easily hackable, thus giving hackers access to your child.
Hackers can easily access the smartwatch which allows them to track the child’s movements, listen in on their conversations, and even make calls to the watch appearing as if they were the parents. The BBC lead investigation of the MiSafes smartwatch uncovered just how simple it was to hack into the device. The BBC attempted to contact the makers and product suppliers for the smartwatch but received no replies.
This smartwatch for kids was released back in 2015 and was sold on Amazon and eBay. It no longer appears on either of those outlets, and the MiSafes website is also missing this particular model. It does appear that the company is marketing a new GPS tracker for kids though, which you should be aware of. Researchers were astonished at just how simple it was to hack into the device and say it takes little to no effort.
“It’s probably the simplest hack we have ever seen,” he told the BBC. “I wish it was more complicated. It isn’t.”
The researchers decided to purchase several test units of the MiSafes smartwatch and discovered the following vulnerabilities:
- They could trigger the remote listening facility of someone else’s watch, with the only warning being that a brief “busy” message appeared before its screen returned to a blank
- They could track the wearer’s current and past locations
- They could alter the safe zone facility so that alerts were triggered by a child’s approach rather than their departure
“Once a hacker has the parent’s number, they could spoof a call to appear to come from it and the child would now think it’s their mum or dad dialling,” said Mr Munro. “So they could leave a voice message or speak to the child to convince them to leave their house and go to a convenient location.”
Experts agree that if you see these devices for sale you should refrain from purchasing them. If you currently own one of these devices, it’s probably best if you just pitch it. It’s unlikely this company is ever going to respond, so you’re most likely out what you paid for it.
Be sure to check out the BBC report at the link below. It contains video that’s worth checking out.
What do you think of this story? Did you purchase a MiSafes smartwatch? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
