Consumer experts say that Smart Watches which are being used by Teenagers are at a risk of being cyber attacked due to some software related security flaws. They add that even high tech devices, costing $50 to $75 could be putting children in danger, especially those who are residing in the UK, Europe, and the USA.
As a result of this possible vulnerability, the NCSC of Britain is intending to impose a ban on the watches until the security flaws are fixed by the manufacturers.
Generally, parents provide smartwatches to their children to keep track of them and contact them in an emergency. But now reports are pouring in that the said smart devices are filled with alarming security loopholes which can put the users at high risk.
Alarming security holes mean the watches, which include GPS tracking and a mobile phone SIM card can be accessed remotely by hackers. Even hackers can send a text message and track down the movements of a smartwatch user within minutes.
A research carried out by security experts from Sophos has discovered that hackers can hear into what a child is doing by sending a hidden text message to the device. The researchers also found evidence that hackers can intercept and change the geographical location of the watch which is known as ‘Location spoofing’. This means that the location of the child wearing a smartwatch can be easily faked when they are actually somewhere else.
According to experts from Cisco Talos, the problem was first found in Norway and has spread to other western countries within no time.
The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) says that the situation has turned serious as it is spreading like wildfire to other countries. So, it immediately commissioned security experts at the firm, Mnemonic, to look at security provisions in three watches which are in great demand in the UK – The Gaptor, Xplora, and SeTracker.
More details will be updated shortly!
