Page 22 - Cyber Warnings

POINT: Is No One Safe Anymore? When Teddy

Bears Attack

By Alex Lating, Product Marketing Manager, Hexis Cyber Solutions

Welp…it seems the days of SkyNet are upon us…
and TRULY no one is safe.

Recent headlines broke the cybersecurity news that not even children’s toys are safe from
malicious attack.

The Web APIs in the toy have vulnerabilities that could expose personally identifiable
information and locations to malicious attackers. Umm…what?

I have a few thoughts on this, but I also have a disclaimer: I don’t have kids. I do have two
kittens, but I’m not really in the market for smart teddy bears right now.

And to be even more honest, I don’t remember stuffed animals costing $100, but hey, times
have changed.

With the growth of the Internet of things, it
seems that everything is connected to your
smartphone or the internet.

That too, now includes your kid’s stuffed
animals. And the Fisher Price Smart Toy®
Bear is no exception.

The toy not only allows YOU to control it from
your phone, but it also uses “smart cards” to
suggest stories, games and activities.

The cloud-connected toy can relay your child’s
progress and activity back to you and even
recognize your child’s voice.

If that’s not enough, it can also remember the
information shared with it, and use that in
conversations.

So again, not a parent, but this toy scares me already. Even without the vulnerabilities enabling
access to my hypothetical child’s information, it’s a little too big brother for me.

And even though it says that “no personally identifiable data is transmitted,” I’m not sure that I’d
be rushing out to bring one into my home.

22 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – February 2016 Edition
Copyright © Cyber Defense Magazine, All rights reserved worldwide