Who would have thought hacking is constraint to only accounts, banks and emails. Today, stuffed pets are being hacked and used for criminal activity. According to reports, around 800,000 accounts relating to the soft toys were recently hacked with data leaked on the internet.
A study conducted by researchers found that cloudpets are hackable with many having already been hacked. Some of these toys work on bluetooth technology and others on WiFi technology, which renders them vulnerable to being used as a listening device if exploited.
An audit was conducted by Mozilla Firefox that highlights that these vulnerabilities are still being widely exploited. Based on this and many other sources, popular retailers have ceased in selling stuffed cloudpets that work on bluetooth and WiFi.
Usernames, passwords and voice recording of children and parents speaking was leaked online. The app required to operate these toys has been taken down by Apple and Android stores, however, there are still some platforms where these apps can be found.
You need to be careful about the use of all toys that come with a camera, and microphone that works using WiFi or bluetooth technology.
The Bottomline
This is a major concern as one can spy using these toys. We recently covered how a mother was concerned about someone spying on her. This just proves why there is a need to make changes and secure your systems accordingly. There is concern that retailers will continue to sell such toys until better regulations come in to effect.
