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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:31PM   Printer-friendly
from the hello-chucky dept.

It seems to come around quicker every year – the failure of so-called smart toys to meet the most basic of security requirements. Which? has discovered a bunch of sack fillers that dirtbags can use to chat to your kids this Christmas.

Back in 2017, the consumer group found toys with security problems relating to network connections, apps or other interactive features. The results of its latest round of testing show manufacturers are struggling to improve standards.

Working with security researchers NCC Group, Which? found a karaoke machine that could transmit audio from anyone passing within Bluetooth range because of its unsecured connection. It found walkie-talkies from VTech which anyone with their own set of similar equipment could connect to over a 200-metre range. It also found a Mattel-backed games portal which appeared to be unmoderated, allowing users to upload their own games with content inappropriate for children.

Ken Munro, security researcher with consultancy Pen Test Partners, said that although there was no evidence the vulnerabilities revealed by Which? had not been used by nefarious characters to contact children, parents should still beware of toys that do not meet minimum standards.

"The reason we don't hear of these attacks is they are local: it would be one parent at a time. Is it still worrying? Yes, I don't like the idea of this thing being unsecured," he said.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 12 2019, @04:52PM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 12 2019, @04:52PM (#931449) Journal

    Ohhhhh, I dunno 'bout that. We could argue that walkie talkies have always been reasonably secure. I mean, they can't talk off-frequency (very far, anyway) nor can the receive off-frequency (very far, again). They're "secure" enough that they should never bother a ham radio operator, or interfere with television/radio reception, or be noticed by police scanners. You have to have "similar equipment" to talk to them, or listen to them. And, unlike more powerful radio equipment, any interloper has to be within a very short range. Some kid in Fresno can't interfere with or snoop on a conversation in - well, anywhere outside his neighborhood in Fresno.

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  • (Score: 2) by sjames on Friday December 13 2019, @03:17AM

    by sjames (2882) on Friday December 13 2019, @03:17AM (#931617) Journal

    Of course, during the CB craze, you couldn't walk more than 5 feet in a discount store without finding the needed 'similar equipment' for cheap.