Hacking in children's toys: At the beginning of December of 2015, we learned that a hacker managed to break the servers of the Chinese game-maker VTech and garnered personal data from almost five million parents and more than 200.000 children.
The hacked data includes home addresses, names, dates of birth, email addresses post officey, and passwords. The data also contained photos and chat logs of parents with their children.
The exploit raised the obvious question: which games are connected to the Internet, and how many of them have loose security?
How many millions or hundreds of millions of children are at risk for this?
We got a partial answer in November when Bluebox Security discovered serious weaknesses in Mattel's Hello Barbie, a doll that has the ability to connect to the Internet.
Hello Barbie: Keep the new Mattel doll away from children
Είναι πολύ πιθανό ότι η πλειοψηφία των παιχνιδιών που συνδέονται στο Internet παιχνίδια να έχουν σοβαρές αδυναμίες και υπάρχουν πολλοί λόγοι γι 'αυτό:
It's new to the market and hackers have a head start in a virgin space. The Dianetwork των πραγμάτων - συσκευές που συνδέονται μεταξύ τους και με το Διαδίκτυο, δεν είναι μόνο για τα παιχνίδια. Το Διαδίκτυο των Πραγμάτων περιλαμβάνει ότι συσκευές μπορείτε να φανταστείτε: αυτοκίνητα, ψυγεία, τηλεοράσεις, βραστήρες, ένα σωρό ψηφιακές και ημι-αναλογικές συσκευές.
The Internet of Things is not safe, mainly because companies don't feel compelled to invest the time, money and effort required to secure their devices. International safety standards or guidelines range from lax to non-existent.
To make matters worse, companies are not required to tell consumers what kind of information they collect and how to protect them.
The recall of Fiat in Chrysler cars in July of 2015, when 1,4 recalled millions of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram proved the extent of the problem.
The company knew for some time the vulnerabilities in the Uconnect systems but did not mention it (and of course did not fix it) until the Wired magazine proved with a publication that all the vehicles that use them are susceptible and that the driver could even lose control at the wheel.
Protecting children from hacking attacks is something extremely important. They are vulnerable and innocent. This makes them emotionally charged targets for blackmail attacks.
Imagine if a really bad hacker had access to VTech systems and was stealing data taken from the cameras to extort money from parents threatening to harm their children.
Last year, the Fox 19 in a post ανέφερε ότι ένας hacker παραβίασε το σύστημα παρακολούθησης μωρών σε ένα σπίτι στο Σινσινάτι του Οχάιο, και άρχισε να ουρλιάζει "Μωρό Ξύπνα!" σε ένα 10-μηνο κοριτσάκι.
Shock! An infected hacker violated baby monitor camera
It is likely that the cost of recalling products strengthens the incentives for more security. But victims are rarely compensated for the loss of their identity data. VTech earns 2 a billion dollars a year and reports that children's products with an Internet connection are one of the fastest growing industries.
What will happen next?
Solutions are not easy and they need not only incentives but regulations, coordination and control mechanisms. The Internet of the Internet seems to be preparing to launch into millions of devices within 2016 without basic security settings. Security standards should already have been set before the devices arrive at our homes, for a safer online world that is also used by our children.
