Spying on kids’ smart devices: Beware of security vulnerabilities!

The emergence of the Internet of Things devices in everyday life has increased its sales dramatically over recent years, specifically of smart devices, such as smartwatches, fitness trackers and smart phones. The number of vulnerabilities exploited has also risen in tandem with the increased sales. The attack vectors have greatly increased due to the connectivity and mass functionality of these devices. The lack of security in smartwatches, marketed towards children, poses a prominent threat for their safety and security. Results reported in this paper revealed significant security vulnerabilities in several popular kids’ smartwatches when exploited by SMS command injection, Bluetooth tracking and Wi-Fi man in the middle attack. The devices investigated were kids’ smartwatches, a fitness tracker and a smart phone with varying functions, connections and security features. Findings of the paper raise concerns as vulnerabilities of kids’ IoT smart devices can lead to criminal cases, such as child grooming and child abduction.