VTech breach exposed data on 6.4 million children

HONG KONG, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- VTech Holdings, Ltd., makers of digital learning toys, revealed Wednesday information on at least 6.4 million children was exposed in a data breach reported earlier this week.

The Hong Kong-based company said an "unauthorized party" hacked into its systems in November, stealing non-encrypted names, genders and dates of birth of the children from a database used to download games to its computer tablets. It earlier said additional information, on 4.9 million adult customers, was also taken.

The hack is the largest known, thus far, targeting information of children.

Attorneys general of Connecticut and Illinois announced separate investigations of the breach, and Hong Kong's Privacy Commission began a "compliance check" to determine if the company followed data privacy protocols.

A spokesperson for the Connecticut Attorney General's office said, "The disclosure of the scope of the breach is troubling."

The breach underscores concerns about children's privacy as it applies to the Internet, as well as their safety.