Cayla is a toy doll that responds to questions. That’s not all, it can bring thieves and hackers at your doorstep too.
Germany’s Federal Network Agency quite recently declared Cayla – The Toy an illegal espionage toy and even requested parents to get rid of the toy.
The reason for this is that Cayla can be connected to internet and make interactions. This is how hackers can get into it and control it.
What Can The Hackers Do With The Toy?
Since these “connecting toys” have a camera and a microphone in them, it becomes very easy for hackers to hack into the system of these toys to see and hear whatever is happening or being said around the toy.
As per experts, besides Cayla, there are many other toys too that pose such risks, including Furry Firby.
These machines are extremely vulnerable and can be hacked into easily. Experts have also said that these sorts of toys can be turned into spies and cause a lot of damage.
Why Do You Need To Worry?
As per an estimate from Gartner, around 8.4 billion connected toys would be in use by the end of the year and each of them are able to connect to the internet.
Now what’s worrisome is that a cyber security researcher named Sarah Jamie Lewis tested these toys just before the holiday season kicked in and found that 90% of these toys had not gone through security tests.
According to AlienVault cyber security official, Javvad Malik, parents need to be sure of what they’re buying for their kids because many of these toys are controllable and can leak sensitive information.