Stealing sensitive information that could be used against childrenĪdditionally, Checkmarx discovered that hackers could launch phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks to steal information ranging from a kid’s name, gender, and birthday, to a parent’s credit card information, billing address, and phone number.įor example, hackers could spoof an existing Wi-Fi network and force devices on the original network to reconnect to the new, fraudulent one. The hacker could then have visited WiGLE, a website that tracks global wireless hotspots and consolidates location information, to see where kids are using Pet Chat and when a device was last used.Īfter learning a child’s location, hackers could send them a preset phrase available through the device like “Let’s go!” and “play outside together.” They could then tempt a child to go outside, where the hacker could be waiting. The app created a Wi-Fi connection using the identifier “Pet Chat”, which then broadcast to other compatible devices nearby while restricting access to the greater Internet.Ī hacker could have found “Pet Chat” on Wi-Fi and track the MAC address, a unique identifier for networked devices. Users could only send a set of pre-loaded emojis and phrases rather than write original messages.īut hackers could have dug into the plumbing powering the Pet Chat app’s chat room. Users of LeapFrog’s Pet Chat app, which lets kids use avatars to chat with other, was pitched as a safe and controlled environment for children. “We’re looking at the worst case scenario, but as a dad, I’d rather look at the worst case scenario,” Yalon says.

Yalon’s team found several security holes, that if exploited together, could let hackers know a child’s name, age, and gender, where they live, and have the ability to send the child a message to come outside and play.

“The reason we chose LeapFrog is because we are looking at devices that may have hold more serious implications than others,” Erez Yalon, head of security research at security company Checkmarx tells Fortune. Parents can also add more than 1,000 other games, eBooks, videos, music, and apps from LeapFrog’s Learning Library.

The tablets, which sell for around $80, are geared toward three-to-six-year-olds, and come pre-loaded with everything from game and flashcards, to read-along videos.

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