Data Leak Risks Cause Security Concerns for Growing Pet Tech Market

Pet ownership rates have been on an upward trajectory since the COVID-19 pandemic. With workers being sent home for work, they have been in the house more and, therefore, able to offer a fairer life for their pets. Due to this, the pet tech market has grown, with many pet owners wanting to understand their pet’s movement and health data, as well as their location if they ever get loose. There have been reports, however, that the applications being used to offer insights from these devices are not as secure as they should be.

Pet tracking devices and applications are used to gain peace of mind about the safety and health of beloved pets; however, the users may not be aware of some of the cybersecurity implications. The Kapersky Lab has found seven popular pet tracking applications to be unsecure, enabling unauthorized access to networks and personal information that is stored on these networks.

Location services are the most common features of the pet tech offerings in the market. Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates are sent back to the owner’s applications regularly, which could, in fact, lead to more pet thefts. This is one of the reasons why pet owners invest in the tracking applications and tracker devices in the first place.

One of the driving factors for the growth of the pet tech market was the increase of pet ownership. The COVID-19 pandemic saw not only an increase in the ownership of pets, but also a huge increase in pet thefts, in particular, the theft of dogs. The asking prices for pets increased with the increased demand for household pets, which only led to criminals seeing a marketable opportunity for their misbehavior.

With the increased ownership of pets and pet trackers, it is crucial that developers ensure that the standard of their security protocols is up to date, offering security for their users. Addressing these security issues will enable successful growth in the pet tracking market, specifically in the pet tech space. The findings of Kaspersky Lab highlighted serious factors that need to be improved in the market, while also pointing out potential solution providers that aren’t making the mark by not offering a solution that is providing the user with an adequate level of service. Ultimately, the solutions that customers are paying for are supposed to minimize the risk of pet theft, not potentially increase the risk, while disguising the product as a helping hand.