Something New to Worry About: Connected Toy Security

Your smartphone or tablet is most likely pretty secure — not perfect, maybe, but generally unlikely to be hacked or to store, say, your email where other people could read it.
Something New to Worry About: Connected Toy Security
This photo provided by HereO shows the HereO GPS watch. Studio OnE/HereO via AP
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NEW YORK—Your smartphone or tablet is most likely pretty secure — not perfect, maybe, but generally unlikely to be hacked or to store, say, your email where other people could read it.

The same can’t be said for any Internet-connected toys you may have purchased for your kids. Recently discovered security flaws in a pair of such toys highlight just how badly the toy industry has neglected such problems, theoretically exposing kids to online threats.

While major crimes teeming from the hack of a connected toy haven’t yet surfaced, some experts argue that it’s only a matter of time.

Kids “aren’t expected to be Internet security experts and neither are their parents,” said Tod Beardsley, security research manager for Rapid7 Inc., the Boston-based cybersecurity firm that published the toy-security research on Tuesday.

This photo provided by Mattel shows the Smart Toy Bear. (Mattel via AP)
This photo provided by Mattel shows the Smart Toy Bear. Mattel via AP