FBI warns on IoT
- 著者:Ella Cai
- 公開：:2017-07-19
The FBI has warned about the dangers to children of Internet-connected toys.
“These toys typically contain sensors, microphones, cameras, data storage components, and other multimedia capabilities – including speech recognition and GPS options,” says the FBI, “these features could put the privacy and safety of children at risk due to the large amount of personal information that may be unwittingly disclosed.”
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 collection of a child’s personal information combined with a toy’s ability to connect to the Internet or other devices raises concerns for privacy and physical safety, states the FBI.
Personal information (e.g., name, date of birth, pictures, address) is typically provided when creating user accounts. In addition, companies collect large amounts of additional data, such as voice messages, conversation recordings, past and real-time physical locations, Internet use history, and Internet addresses/IPs.
The exposure of such information could create opportunities for child identity fraud. Additionally, the potential misuse of sensitive data such as GPS location information, visual identifiers from pictures or videos, and known interests to garner trust from a child could present exploitation risks.
Consumers should examine toy company user agreement disclosures and privacy practices, and should know where their family’s personal data is sent and stored, including if it’s sent to third-party services, says the FBI.
Security safeguards for these toys can be overlooked in the rush to market them and to make them easy to use. Consumers should perform online research of these products for any known issues that have been identified by security researchers or in consumer reports.
Data collected from interactions or conversations between children and toys are typically sent and stored by the manufacturer or developer via server or cloud service. In some cases, it is also collected by third-party companies who manage the voice recognition software used in the toys.
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.
Communications connections where data is encrypted between the toy, Wi-Fi access points, and Internet servers that store data or interact with the toy are crucial to mitigate the risk of hackers exploiting the toy or possibly eavesdropping on conversations/audio messages.
Bluetooth-connected toys that do not have authentication requirements (such as PINs or passwords) when pairing with the mobile devices could pose a risk for unauthorized access to the toy and allow communications with a child user. It could also be possible for unauthorized users to remotely gain access to the toy if the security measures used for these connections are insufficient or the device is compromised.
The FBI encourages consumers to consider the following recommendations, at a minimum, prior to using Internet-connected toys.
Only connect and use toys in environments with trusted and secured Wi-Fi Internet access
Research the toy’s Internet and device connection security measures.
Use authentication when pairing the device with Bluetooth (via PIN code or password).
Use encryption when transmitting data from the toy to the Wi-Fi access point and to the server or cloud.
Research if your toys can receive firmware and/or software updates and security patches.
If they can, ensure your toys are running on the most updated versions and any available patches are implemented.
Research where user data is stored – with the company, third party services, or both – and whether any publicly available reporting exists on their reputation and posture for cyber security
The FBI advises toy owners to carefully read disclosures and privacy policies (from company and any third parties) and consider the following:
If the company is victimised by a cyber-attack and your data may have been exposed, will the company notify you?
If vulnerabilities to the toy are discovered, will the company notify you?
Where is your data being stored?
Who has access to your data?
If changes are made to the disclosure and privacy policies, will the company notify you?
Is the company contact information openly available in case you have questions or concerns?
Closely monitor children’s activity with the toys (such as conversations and voice recordings) through the toy’s partner parent application, if such features are available.
Ensure the toy is turned off, particularly those with microphones and cameras, when not in use
Use strong and unique login passwords when creating user accounts (e.g., lower and upper case letters, numbers, and special characters).
Provide only what is minimally required when inputting information for user accounts (e.g., some services offer additional features if birthdays or information on a child’s preferences are provided).
“These toys typically contain sensors, microphones, cameras, data storage components, and other multimedia capabilities – including speech recognition and GPS options,” says the FBI, “these features could put the privacy and safety of children at risk due to the large amount of personal information that may be unwittingly disclosed.”
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 collection of a child’s personal information combined with a toy’s ability to connect to the Internet or other devices raises concerns for privacy and physical safety, states the FBI.
Personal information (e.g., name, date of birth, pictures, address) is typically provided when creating user accounts. In addition, companies collect large amounts of additional data, such as voice messages, conversation recordings, past and real-time physical locations, Internet use history, and Internet addresses/IPs.
The exposure of such information could create opportunities for child identity fraud. Additionally, the potential misuse of sensitive data such as GPS location information, visual identifiers from pictures or videos, and known interests to garner trust from a child could present exploitation risks.
Consumers should examine toy company user agreement disclosures and privacy practices, and should know where their family’s personal data is sent and stored, including if it’s sent to third-party services, says the FBI.
Security safeguards for these toys can be overlooked in the rush to market them and to make them easy to use. Consumers should perform online research of these products for any known issues that have been identified by security researchers or in consumer reports.
Data collected from interactions or conversations between children and toys are typically sent and stored by the manufacturer or developer via server or cloud service. In some cases, it is also collected by third-party companies who manage the voice recognition software used in the toys.
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.
Communications connections where data is encrypted between the toy, Wi-Fi access points, and Internet servers that store data or interact with the toy are crucial to mitigate the risk of hackers exploiting the toy or possibly eavesdropping on conversations/audio messages.
Bluetooth-connected toys that do not have authentication requirements (such as PINs or passwords) when pairing with the mobile devices could pose a risk for unauthorized access to the toy and allow communications with a child user. It could also be possible for unauthorized users to remotely gain access to the toy if the security measures used for these connections are insufficient or the device is compromised.
The FBI encourages consumers to consider the following recommendations, at a minimum, prior to using Internet-connected toys.
Only connect and use toys in environments with trusted and secured Wi-Fi Internet access
Research the toy’s Internet and device connection security measures.
Use authentication when pairing the device with Bluetooth (via PIN code or password).
Use encryption when transmitting data from the toy to the Wi-Fi access point and to the server or cloud.
Research if your toys can receive firmware and/or software updates and security patches.
If they can, ensure your toys are running on the most updated versions and any available patches are implemented.
Research where user data is stored – with the company, third party services, or both – and whether any publicly available reporting exists on their reputation and posture for cyber security
The FBI advises toy owners to carefully read disclosures and privacy policies (from company and any third parties) and consider the following:
If the company is victimised by a cyber-attack and your data may have been exposed, will the company notify you?
If vulnerabilities to the toy are discovered, will the company notify you?
Where is your data being stored?
Who has access to your data?
If changes are made to the disclosure and privacy policies, will the company notify you?
Is the company contact information openly available in case you have questions or concerns?
Closely monitor children’s activity with the toys (such as conversations and voice recordings) through the toy’s partner parent application, if such features are available.
Ensure the toy is turned off, particularly those with microphones and cameras, when not in use
Use strong and unique login passwords when creating user accounts (e.g., lower and upper case letters, numbers, and special characters).
Provide only what is minimally required when inputting information for user accounts (e.g., some services offer additional features if birthdays or information on a child’s preferences are provided).
