Hackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for Kids
On a rainy New York morning earlier this week, a WIRED reporter strapped to his wrist a lavender and pink plastic child’s smartwatch and headed to work. As he approached his nearby subway station to commute to WIRED’s office, he texted Vangelis Stykas, the Greek security researcher who had shipped him the watch via Amazon, to let him know that he was going into the station and might lose cell signal.
Reported by 1 outlet — WIRED. See all sources ↓
On a rainy New York morning earlier this week, a WIRED reporter strapped to his wrist a lavender and pink plastic child’s smartwatch and headed to work. As he approached his nearby subway station to commute to WIRED’s office, he texted Vangelis Stykas, the Greek security researcher who had shipped him the watch via Amazon, to let him know that he was going into the station and might lose cell signal. In fact, Stykas had been monitoring the reporter’s location via the watch since the moment he left his apartment. The watch’s GPS feature, intended to let a parent track their child, was malfunctioning, but the wearable device was still picking up and transmitting to a faraway server identifiers from every nearby Wi-Fi network, which allowed Stykas to nonetheless pinpoint the reporter’s exact location as he walked down a particular Brooklyn block.
Read the full report at WIRED ↗
Why it matters
A world story we're tracking; its significance and source trust firm up as more outlets confirm it.
- What's the story?
- On a rainy New York morning earlier this week, a WIRED reporter strapped to his wrist a lavender and pink plastic child’s smartwatch and headed to work. As he approached his nearby subway station to commute to WIRED’s office, he texted Vangelis Stykas, the Greek security researcher who had shipped him the watch via Amazon, to let him know that he was going into the station and might lose cell signal.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 7.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- just now ago.
How outlets are framing the same story
Here's how each outlet is covering the story — compare their headlines and timing at a glance.
- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
Hackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for Kids
Sources1TypeCoverageWIRED