In recent years, we’ve seen advancements in technology hurtle forward at an incredible pace, and children’s electronic toys can sometimes be at the forefront of such developments. Many kids don’t want plain teddy bears and dolls any more; they want intelligent robots that can interact with them.<\/p>\n
Consumer watchdog, Which?<\/em>, joined up with a similar German organisation, Stiftung Warentat<\/em>, and together they made the chilling discovery that a lot of popular kids electronic toys can apparently be hacked. Enlisting the help of third-party security experts, they tested seven different toys and four of them were vulnerable to hacking. Adults can connect some of the above toys to their phones to control them remotely and communicate with a child. These toys reportedly have unsecured Bluetooth connections which means that third parties can access the connection without a password or a PIN<\/strong>. Okay, hackers may need to be in fairly close proximity to tap into the Bluetooth connection, but it still allows nearby neighbours – especially in tightly packed apartments – the opportunity to hack a nearby toy with ease.<\/p>\n The experts managed to hack into the Furby<\/em> using a laptop and uploaded their own audio file, which the Furby<\/em> then played out. This means that hackers nearby could talk to children through their Furby<\/em> toy.<\/p>\n The risk to children is horrifying as they are vulnerable and often easy to manipulate. Hackers could in theory instruct a child to do anything they want.<\/p>\n
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\nThe following four failed the test:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n