Parents urged to boycott VTech following hack
I would love to know your thoughts on this…
Vtech toys have always been popular in my family. All 3 of my children have had a VTech product at some point in their lives and the toys are very popular amongst my friends children too.
Cybersecurity experts have suggested that parents should boycott or at least be very cautious of VTech’s electronic toys because of how it has handled a hack. Let’s not lie, this is scary!
More than 6.3 million children’s accounts were affected by last year’s security breach, which gave the perpetrator access to photos and chat logs. VTech has now released new terms and conditions which state that parents must assume responsibility for future breaches. The new T&C’s read: ”You acknowledge and agree that you assume full responsibility for your use of the site and any software or firmware downloaded. You acknowledge and agree that any information you send or receive during your use of the site may not be secure and may be intercepted or later acquired by unauthorised parties. You acknowledge and agree that your use of the site and any software or firmware downloaded there from is at your own risk.”
The Learning Lodge database which was hacked, logged names, email addresses, encrypted passwords, IP (internet protocol) numbers and other personal data. Some of the information was about children including names, dates of birth and gender.
No credit card data was stored in the compromised database.
Details on customers from all over world, including the US, UK, France and China, were taken.
Some of the data is believed to have been posted briefly online before being removed.
A spokeswoman for VTech said: “Since learning about the hack of its databases, VTech has worked hard to enhance the security of its websites and services and to safeguard customer information, however, no company that operates online can provide a 100% guarantee that it won’t be hacked. The Learning Lodge terms and conditions, like the T&Cs for many online sites and services, simply recognise that fact by limiting the company’s liability for the acts of third parties such as hackers. Such limitations are commonplace on the web.”
Should we take responsibility for this and any future attacks where our personal details are accessed by an unauthorised person or should we follow this advice and boycott VTech?
