VTech, makers of Internet-connected toys, experienced a major hack in November of last year, exposing the private data of almost 5 million parents and over 6 million kids, including photographs of and conversations with children.
Now they’re diving deeper into the connected home, hoping to convince users to trust it with a suite of products from security cameras to light switches.
VTech unveiled the products at CES this week, and as Motherboard reports, the company is putting its new tech through penetration tests by third parties to ensure the security of the devices.
Many of them, like the hacked products, can record video of people and their children, and collect intimate data about the goings on within your home.
The company is still recovering from the hack. When you visit the website for children’s toys, you’re confronted with a pop-up apology and invited to click on more information about the major breach of privacy.
VTech
Although VTech says it’s improving security, the company declined to tell Motherboard what type of tests it’s doing and which firms it is working with.
Hawking new connected wares is a bold move so recently after a major privacy failure, especially when neglecting to provide comprehensive information about security improvements.
Of course, by the time the products are actually released in the summer, people might have forgotten the breach of consumer trust and data that happened in November. In fact, USA Today has already included some of the company’s connected home products in a round up of “coolest security tech” at CES.
H/T Motherboard | Photo via jeremylevinedesign/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
