News:
Recently a well-known South Korean parental monitoring and control spyware for Android phones has been pulled off the market on request of the government due to concerns over information leakage and data security issues. The app known as Smart Sheriff had initially been made a mandatory app by the South Korean government on Android Smartphones sold to kids under 18 years of age. But amidst fears that it has flawed and weak security and the risk of leakage of personal data of several hundred thousand minors; the government has asked for it to be taken down.
History:
This is not the first time such an incident has happened, previously a similarly flawed app with weak security called mSpy had the information of their clients hacked and it was leaked on the Internet available for people to see.There was a lot of commotion initially but nothing happened; the company is still operating and people are oblivious to the fact that their personal information is available on the Internet including credit card numbers and smartphone usage profiles.
Solution and Ideal Example:
Looking at this, it brings to question what should a parent do? Parents should first of all do a thorough background check of the app they are planning on buying. They should make sure that the spyware for Android phones that they are going to use has no negative reviews in the news. Next, they should make sure that the app company has high encryption and security measures implemented to avoid the kind of aforementioned scenarios. It might be a little time consuming, but it will pay off in the long run.
