The Bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued a consumer notice on its website. Its aim is to encourage "consumers to consider cyber security prior to introducing smart, interactive, internet-connected toys into their homes or trusted environments."
Dangers of Smart or Internet-connected Toys you need to be aware of
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Written For ParentCircle Website new design updateThe growth of the Internet of things has made it possible to create an Internet of toys. Read on to know how smart toys can affect the privacy and the safety of both you and your child. Toddler to 18+ 11.6K 1 0function googleadv()pcadv.display(".art_desc","div-gpt-ad-1597667898212-0","300px","250px","1");pcadv.display(".art_desc","div-gpt-ad-1609769102177-0","300px","250px","1");With technology making inroads into every aspect of our life, toys are also undergoing a change. Smart toys are replacing traditional ones like dolls, superhero action figures, and other play sets.Smart toys, which may be connected to the Internet, are available in various forms like toy robots, dolls, or toy cars. The typical features of these toys include functions like data storage, microphone, Bluetooth connectivity, speech recognition ability, and digital cameras. To operate these toys, users may be required to provide information like email id, home address, user name, password, and date of birth.While children find these toys extremely interesting and entertaining, smart toys come with risks to privacy, similar to other smart gadgets. The problems related to privacy are compounded by the fact that the toys are operated by children, who are usually unaware of digital privacy issues.Several research studies have suggested that smart toys can be hacked or the information requested by these toys from the user can be accessed and saved by an unscrupulous manufacturer or software developer for use later.Let us look at some privacy infringement risks that smart toys can expose children and their families to:Taking photographs: Young children prefer to keep smart toys like dolls with them at all times, as they consider these toys trusted friends or family members. As a result, the toys accompany the children wherever they go - to the toilet, to bed, to change their dress, and so on. Because of this, hackers can use the camera in smart toys to photograph children during different times, when they are undressing, taking a bath, or in awkward positions. Such images can then be circulated on the Internet in the form of child porn. In India, the production, creation, and circulation of images showing the private parts of children, using children for creating child porn, or capturing images of children in sexually explicit positions are punishable offenses both under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008), as well as under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, legal provisions may not deter criminals from committing such crimes.Stalking: Hackers can use smart toys to gain access to the child and the child's family. They can then take photographs, record conversations and monitor the movements of the victims. In other words, smart toys can be turned into tools for spying. Women, including caregivers, mothers, and female relatives of children, need to be especially careful as they may be targeted by stalkers using these toys. As a cybercrime victim counselor, I have dealt with several cases where women have complained of receiving messages from stalkers who seemed to be aware of everything the victim was doing. The Indian Penal Code has been amended to introduce provisions to criminalize stalking, including cyberstalking. Similarly, the POCSO Act also offers penal provisions for stalking children. However, the number of individuals who report cases of stalking is still low in India. It is, therefore, necessary that if you suspect being stalked, consider reporting it to law enforcement agencies and taking precautionary steps to prevent virtual as well as online privacy infringement by checking cyber security loopholes.Providing unauthorized access to personal data: Often, we use the same email id, phone numbers, and security codes, which we use for purposes like Internet banking, to operate other gadgets connected to the Internet, including smart toys. This may present a security threat. For, if the web applications controlling the smart toy are accessed by hackers, they may even get access to our personal data like banking details. Even though the Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008), addresses the issue of unauthorized access and causing damage to data and/or reputation (very loosely) as both a civil and criminal offense, the victims of hacking may find it very difficult to establish how the data was accessed if they are unaware of the risks posed by smart toys.While smart toys do pose the above-mentioned, and more, hazards, it doesn't mean that we should deny children a chance to own them. We must always remember that, as aware and alert parents, we can make smart toys safe for our children by managing how our children handle them and play with them. Furthermore, we should also make our children aware of the risks smart toys can pose to our privacy and security if not handled carefully.Connect with us onComments
Since 2017, the Mozilla Foundation has published Privacy Not Included(Opens in a new tab), an annual guide to internet-connected gadgets. It calls for products to meet five minimum security standards: encrypted communications, automatic security updates, the requirement for strong passwords, a point of contact for reporting security issues, and an easy-to-understand privacy policy that spells out what user data is being collected and shared. Of the 70 products it examined in 2018, 32 made the grade, but only five of the 18 connected toys(Opens in a new tab) and gaming systems they tested did, including the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit and the Nintendo Switch.
Some smart toys have companion apps that must be downloaded to enable interactive features. These apps sometimes allow the child to make unsupervised purchases. This is common with tablet games where a lead character promotes the purchase of in-app extras.
Security is important to everyone and is a civil right, no matter what age you are. The design and development of internet-connected smart toys should be a priority to ensure the cyber safety of our children. Rushing out toys to take advantage of holidays like Christmas should not mean that security is an afterthought. We have a civic duty to ensure the safety and uphold the privacy of our children.
At the same time, it has also provided opportunities for manufacturers to market flashy new toys for our children. The global market for smart toys is set to see percentage growth in the double digits, to exceed US$24 billion by 2027. But when connectivity, data and computing meet, privacy and security concerns are never far away.
With this kind of technology, smart toys can go beyond the inanimate playthings most of us grew up with. They have the power to engage children through back-and-forth interaction and even acquire new functionality or behaviors by downloading additional capabilities from the internet.
Misleading terms and conditions: certain toys and related apps require that parents agree to terms and conditions that may be difficult to read, unclear or misleading. The terms and conditions might also not include all the information you need to know.
Hexa Research (2019, March 12). Smart Toys Market Size Worth USD 24.65 Billion by 2025: Hexa Research. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from -releases/smart-toys-market-size-worth-usd-24-65-billion-by-2025-hexa-research-300810651.html
Provides a public service announcement for consumers to consider cyber security concerns before introducing their children to smart, interactive, internet-connected toys. The announcement describes the vulnerabilities and risks of having these kinds of toys in your home and children's hands.
Popular smart toys include things like the Twin Science Autonomous Vehicle Kit, programmable self-driving car kids build themselves, and LEGO VIDIYO, an augmented reality platform that lets youngsters make their music videos with their LEGO. Even AI companions teach kids math, science, and languages while relaying activities to parents.
Smart toys may need internet connection to perform many of their features. Some use it to conduct searches to find out the weather or various trivia. Others use online connection to update the software, so kids get the most out of their devices.
Although the chances these attacks could harvest any significant information are slim, it does not mean there's no damage. While hacking smart toys is not the best way to obtain social security or banking information, it is a way for sinister individuals to spy on kids or wider households.
Above all, one thing smart toys do is open up the early opportunity to talk about internet safety with your children. This is an important conversation to have. Let your children know which online behaviors are worrying and encourage them to talk to you directly about any concerns or things that don't seem quite right.
With more and more interactive, connected toys coming to market, parents need to be especially vigilant about what kind of information these devices ask from children. For instance, many smart toys collect personal information in service of a customized experience.
That's the warning from security experts, adding to previous warnings from the the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), as concerns mount that smart toys and smart 'tracker' watches made for children present a safety risk from hackers.
The research highlights the dangers of so-called "smart" toys, just a few weeks after privacy and security researchers found multiple flaws that could turn the internet-connected Hello Barbie doll into a surveillance device. 2ff7e9595c
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