VTech's 'Learning Lodge' Hack Exposes Kids' Data

In a statement today, VTech, maker of gadgets for children, announced that its customer data has been breached. According to the company, an "unauthorized party" accessed data within the Learning Lodge app store database earlier this month; that database has neither banking info nor certain personal identification details like social security numbers, but does have 'general' profile info.

VTech has long made devices for children, and in recent years these devices have included kid-friendly tablets. The Learning Lodge is essentially the app store for VTech's platform, giving kids access to age appropriate and educational content.

The breach took place on November 14. Upon discovering it, VTech says it initiated an investigation into the matter and took steps to prevent this sort of breach from happening again in the future. Compromised data includes email addresses, secret question answers, names, IP addresses, one's download history, and physical mailing addresses.

Passwords were also stored on the database, but were encrypted. The company doesn't state who was behind the breach, nor whether it has any leads regarding that. VTech doesn't detail how many people are affected by the breach, but Troy Hunt goes into great detail about the incident on his blog, revealing that it is massive in scope.

SOURCE: VTech