Beware of toys spying on your children: FBI warns parents

Exposure of data could lead to opportunities of possible child identity fraud

In a recent development, the FBI has warned that children's toys that have the capability to connect to the internet and have cameras and microphones may be spying on them.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) informed parents to be wary of such toys and advised them to carry out a number of checks before they purchased any toys with internet connection. The agency further advised that toys should be switched of at all times when they are not being used, reported the Independent.

According to the IC3, the sensors placed inside toys could put the safety and privacy of children at risk. Not only that, toys could include GPS, data storage and speech recognition components along with cameras and microphones.

“In some cases, toys with microphones could record and collect conversations within earshot of the device. Information such as the child’s name, school, likes and dislikes, and activities may be disclosed through normal conversation with the toy or in the surrounding environment,” the agency said.



The IC3 also warned that companies could collect additional data such as "voice messages, conversation recordings, past and real-time physical locations, Internet use history, and Internet addresses/IPs."

Exposure of such data could lead to opportunities of possible child identity fraud and even present exploitation risks for the children. Data collected from interactions can also be sent to manufacturers and information shared with third-party software makers.

“Voice recordings, toy Web application (parent app) passwords, home addresses, Wi-Fi information, or sensitive personal data could be exposed if the security of the data is not sufficiently protected with the proper use of digital certificates and encryption when it is being transmitted or stored,” says the IC3.

The IC3 has now published a list of checks to be performed before people buy toys which can be connected to the internet.

This article originally appeared on The Independent