Hackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for Kids

(wired.com)

39 points | by worik 5 hours ago

8 comments

  • femto 51 minutes ago
    > made by an equally obscure manufacturer, YiQingTeng Electronics, in Shenzhen, China.

    Is this what is meant by "Shenzhen Speed"? Dump all safeguards and get any piece of crap out the door as soon as possible? This comment isn't directed specifically at Shenzhen, as other parts of the world do the same thing and call it "Move fast and break things."

    Dropping engineering standards may increase short term profits, but it erodes people's trust in the world around them when everything "sort of works".

    There's an argument that this low level continuous corrosion does more long-term damage than obvious safety flaws that are serious enough to prompt corrective action.

    • bluefirebrand 0 minutes ago
      > There's an argument that this low level continuous corrosion does more long-term damage than obvious safety flaws that are serious enough to prompt corrective action.

      Unfortunately I just don't see much care being given to the long term well being of society right now. Not by many governments, not by many corporations.. it feels like everyone is in a "get rich by any means, fuck you I got mine" attitude.

      It's really sad

  • gkanai 51 minutes ago
    Until the Chinese government penalizes these Chinese companies for these insecure practices, they'll continue to be sold as is. China doesn't need to care about Chinese made products sold for export apparently.
  • thenthenthen 51 minutes ago
  • fhub 1 hour ago
  • Animats 28 minutes ago
    It's 10 PM. Do you know where your children are? We do.
  • vladmk 18 minutes ago
    Ingenious and sad.
  • fsckboy 57 minutes ago
    the reporter was "hacked" in cooperation with the hacker in order to write the article
    • Sabinus 26 minutes ago
      "Reporter commissions a (successful) penetration test (of cheap Chinese hardware)" isn't quite as catchy I guess
    • NewsaHackO 39 minutes ago
      Journalists have no shame when it comes to making clickbait headlines. Feel like an idiot for falling for it.
    • iamnothere 12 minutes ago
      That’s typically how you show that something is vulnerable before it becomes a real problem.

      I mean, criticize the headline if you want, but this is pretty standard reporting for this kind of thing. Recent stories on vulnerabilities in networked car systems were handled using the same approach. (It finally got attention, too, even though security researchers had been pointing out the same issues for years.)

  • iamnothere 1 hour ago
    [flagged]
    • pavel_lishin 1 hour ago
      How about your children?

      How about when they're not in public, but are at home?