Easy-to-pick “smart” locks gush personal data, FTC finds

Enlarge / Sure, the locker's locked for now. The companion app and the user's personal data, on the other hand... (credit: Tapplock)

A padlock-whether it uses a combination, a key, or "smart" tech-has exactly one job: to keep your stuff safe so other people can't get it. Tapplock, Inc., based in Canada, produces such a product. The company's locks unlock with a fingerprint or an app connected by Bluetooth to your phone. Unfortunately, the Federal Trade Commission said, the locks are full of both digital and physical vulnerabilities that leave users' stuff, and data, at risk.

The FTC's complaint (PDF) against Tapplock, released Monday, basically alleges that the company misrepresented itself, because it marketed its products as secure and tested when they were neither. A product-any product-simply being kind of crappy doesn't necessarily fall under the FTC's purview. Saying untrue things about your product in your advertisement or privacy policy, however, will make the commission very unhappy with you indeed.

"We allege that Tapplock promised that its Internet-connected locks were secure, but in fact the company failed to even test if that claim was true," Andrew Smith, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a written statement. "Tech companies should remember the basics-when you promise security, you need to deliver security."

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