FBI Issues Warning and Recommendations on Internet-Connected Toys

[CrAKeN]

 

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has issued a public service announcement about the improper security and privacy protections provided by manufacturers of Internet-connected smart toys, also known as IoT toys.

 

The IC3 issues such advisories when it spots trends of abuse in a specific area of technology.

 

It's most recent warning comes after numerous incidents where insecure smart toys have leaked the personal details of small children, vulnerabilities allowed hackers to spy on little kids, or greedy companies have hidden clauses inside lengthy terms of conditions to allow them to collect large quantities of private information about small kids.

 

Here's a small list of incidents with IoT toys from the last few years:

• Germany bans "My Friend Cayla" toys over hacking fears and data collection
• Data from connected CloudPets teddy bears leaked and ransomed, exposing kids' voice messages
• Fisher-Price smart bear allowed hacking of children's biographical data
• Star Wars BB-8 IoT toy: awesome fun, but can it be turned to the Dark Side with this vulnerability
• When children are breached – inside the massive VTech hack

 

"Consumers should examine toy company user agreement disclosures and privacy practices, and should know where their family’s personal data is sent and stored, including if it’s sent to third-party services," the FBI says. "Security safeguards for these toys can be overlooked in the rush to market them and to make them easy to use."

 

The FBI advises parents to follow a simple set of rules before buying smart toys for their kids.

 

- Research for any known reported security issues online to include, but not limited to:

- Only connect and use toys in environments with trusted and secured Wi-Fi Internet access

- Research the toy’s Internet and device connection security measures

• Use authentication when pairing the device with Bluetooth (via PIN code or password)
• Use encryption when transmitting data from the toy to the Wi-Fi access point and to the server or cloud

- Research if your toys can receive firmware and/or software updates and security patches

• If they can, ensure your toys are running on the most updated versions and any available patches are implemented

- Research where user data is stored – with the company, third party services, or both – and whether any publicly available reporting exists on their reputation and posture for cyber security
- Carefully read disclosures and privacy policies (from company and any third parties) and consider the following:

• If the company is victimized by a cyber-attack and your data may have been exposed, will the company notify you?
• If vulnerabilities to the toy are discovered, will the company notify you?
• Where is your data being stored?
• Who has access to your data?
• If changes are made to the disclosure and privacy policies, will the company notify you?
• Is the company contact information openly available in case you have questions or concerns?

- Closely monitor children’s activity with the toys (such as conversations and voice recordings) through the toy’s partner parent application, if such features are available
- Ensure the toy is turned off, particularly those with microphones and cameras, when not in use
- Use strong and unique login passwords when creating user accounts (e.g., lower and upper case letters, numbers, and special characters)
- Provide only what is minimally required when inputting information for user accounts (e.g., some services offer additional features if birthdays or information on a child’s preferences are provided)

 

 

Source

[straycat19]

When it comes to children the manufacturers should be very careful or they could find all their top management arrested on charges ranging from child pornography to being a pervert.  If a children's toy is capable of taking pictures and those pictures are transmitted in any data and they would happen to be of an undressed child in their room then there could be serious consequences. There is also the question of why they would want or need data from a childs toy.  That doesn't pass the common sense test.  In other words, it really stinks.  There should be some type of certification procedure for IoT childrens toys to certify the security and privacy of the toy.  I sent the FBI warning to all my nieces, nephews, and daughter yesterday when I notice it but am going to follow up with this article.  Sometimes they are hard headed and think they know better than anyone else.