uKnowKids has responded to reports that their database was exposed. As reported yesterday on this site, the details of 1,740 children being tracked by their software as well as other details were exposed in a misconfigured MongoDB installation. The exposed data included text messages and images from and to the children.
The exposure was discovered by Chris Vickery in a shodan search and reported to them so they could secure their database.
Yesterday, their CEO, Steve Woda, posted a statement to their site. That statement, in large part, confirms what Vickery informed this site, but also notes that proprietary information was involved. Steve Ragan of CSO has more on that, including some redacted screen shots from the database provided to him by Vickery.
Woda informs DataBreaches.net that he in no way attempted to intimidate Vickery from reporting the incident, but he did demand that Vickery delete everything he had downloaded, including screenshots. On that point, Vickery informs Salted Hash:
“However, after considering the potential worry to parents, I securely wiped it within 48 hours and notified uKnowKids of this fact. However, the few retained screenshots are completely redacted of all Personally Identifiable Information and are being kept for purposes of credibility and to keep uKnowKids (minimally) honest in their claims.”
Woda’s letter stated that the company continues to demand Vickery to delete the screenshots, stating that they are, in fact, “copies of uKnow’s database.”
“Mr. Vickery obviously did not and does not have authorization to explore, copy, or control this private child data (or uKnow’s intellectual property), and we expect him to comply with our requests immediately,” Woda wrote.
Of note, all parents have reportedly been notified of the incident as of yesterday afternoon, and two firms were brought in to assess security and make further recommendations. The company also contacted the FTC to report the incident and to seek guidance. See Woda’s statement for additional details.