Many adults are wary that their electronic services, credit cards and other personal information could get leaked or stolen by unsuspecting identity fraud perpetrators or by targeted companies. But most consumers don’t consider the possibility of their children’s information being affected.
VTech, a global supplier of electronic learning toys and products for children, confirmed a data breach Monday after an unauthorized party accessed information on Learning Lodge, the company’s app store database.
Read more: Make your baby monitor hack-proof
Here’s what you need to know about the VTech breach
1. What happened?
Hackers stole information from over five million adults and more than six million children after they attacked the Hong Kong digital toy maker VTech, which sells tablets and other educational tools. Passwords, security questions and answers, I.P. and mailing addresses were compromised, according to the New York Times.
Parent users are mostly upset by the breach of chat logs, download histories and photos of children who used the Kid Connect service to communicate with their parents, according to Reuters.
2. How did it happen?
VTech’s online store Learning Lodge was targeted, according to a release. The information was taken in an attack on a portal used to download games to computer tablets.
3. Who is affected?
In the United States along, 2,212,863 parent accounts were impacted and 2,894,091 kid accounts were breached, the company said in its most recent update.
4. When did it happen?
The hack occurred on Nov. 14, according to the company. VTech made the public aware of its findings via press releases on Nov. 27 and Nov. 30.
5. Why was VTech targeted?
It’s unclear why VTech was targeted, but attorneys general in Illinois and Connecticut announced that they will investigate the incident.
6. What should you do next?
Some 20 states will allow a parent or guardian to freeze a child’s credit. Click here for a list of those states and links to freeze with each of the credit bureaus.
Read more: Easy way to know if your account has been compromised
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