In South Korea, a child-monitoring app is raising security concerns. Why?

In many countries, apps that let parents track how their children use smartphones are regarded as a parenting tool that can prevent bullying or a method of tracking what kids do online. But in South Korea, a leading platform endorsed by the government called Smart Sheriff has critical security weaknesses, leaving personal information about parents and children vulnerable to hacking. Korean parents and children have little choice about whether to use such software. In April, the government began requiring all smartphones sold to people 18 and under to include child-monitoring apps, as well as aggressively promoting Smart Sheriff in collaboration with local schools.