Smart toys are getting more and more popular not only with the kids. The Mozilla Foundation warns that some toys are vulnerable to hackers.
In particular, the Mozilla Foundation points to a smart toy made by CogniToys, The Sun reports. That toy is Dino the dinosaur.
Dino can learn to answer kids’ questions and also tells them bedtime stories. The toy requires an internet connection in order to work properly.
And the problem is it’s not using a sufficient encryption to safeguard the data. Mozilla Foundation also says that CogniToys is having a small print in the privacy policy that the toy collects information about kids’ “likes, dislikes, interests and other educational metrics.”
Dino was launched in 2016 and has won the Best Use of AI in Education in the AI Awards. It’s a screen-free toy which are a lot more than digital assistant, the company says. “Dinos aren’t ‘digital assistants’ like Siri or Alexa, they are friends who answer questions, tell stories, practice spelling, play games and even lead guided meditations – using technology to create positive experiences with real world impact.”
And there’s more. Mozilla tested 70 connected toys in total. There were issues with a few of them. For example, the baby monitor Fredi could allow someone to remotely connect to the built-in camera. Also vulnerable are Furbo Dog Camera, Petcube Play and others.
