A Tech Blog for Families

Hello there! Welcome to Hacked Parenting, a tech blog by parents, for parents (those without kids also welcome). It didn’t take long after having our first child for the barrage of “smart” and internet-connected devices marketed at parents to begin. Many of these products (sometimes understandably) place convenience and ease of use over privacy and security. Nobody would purchase them if they weren’t useful.

Take Control of your Family’s Online Security and Privacy

I’m far from the first person to realize this. One of my favorite examples is Red Balloon Security turning Snoo bassinets into vibrating death traps (don’t worry, they’ve been fixed). And it seems like a not uncommon occurrence for someone to gain control over the two-way audio on a family’s baby monitor before yelling obscenities through the speaker. Some issues are less obvious. Privacy policies of devices you purchase may afford you little privacy. Configuration menus may bury secure configuration options or leave them disabled by default.

What to Expect

Without getting into the nitty gritty, most of my professional history involved different aspects of physical and cybersecurity. With time, I hope to leverage my experience to help families understand topics such as:

• The security and privacy risks posed by specific devices and applications

• Secure configuration of devices such as baby monitors, webcams, and smart appliances

• Building secure home networks

• Removing personal information from data brokers

• Minimizing the likelihood of identity theft

• How to maximize privacy on common social media platforms