Hackers Can Hijack Wi-Fi Hello Barbie

Megalith

Megalith

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The Hello Barbie, a doll that transmits what you say so it can be analyzed on cloud servers, has surprisingly been found to be a security risk…

It was the ease with which the doll was compromise that was most concerning. The information stored by the doll could allow hackers to take over a home Wi-Fi network and from there gain access to other internet connected devices, steal personal information and cause other problems for the owners, potentially without their knowledge.
 
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And that's the rub with technology that leverages and shares personal data. It can be very cool but then of course it can be hacked or the data used in unexpected or unintended ways.

I simply don't see this kind of technology slowing down, it's going to accelerate until something really, really bad happens to lots of people over and over and over. And even then I doubt much would change. We put up with a lot of things for the sake of convenience or other reasons.
 
heatlesssun said:
And that's the rub with technology that leverages and shares personal data. It can be very cool but then of course it can be hacked or the data used in unexpected or unintended ways.

I simply don't see this kind of technology slowing down, it's going to accelerate until something really, really bad happens to lots of people over and over and over. And even then I doubt much would change. We put up with a lot of things for the sake of convenience or other reasons.
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Are people not relating this to the Ashley Madison fallout?
 
Reimu said:
Are people not relating this to the Ashley Madison fallout?
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You could relate this to any number of breaches over the last few years. And has anything really changed? Which is my point. People will risk at least some privacy for convenience and that's always been true, right or wrong.
 
heatlesssun said:
You could relate this to any number of breaches over the last few years. And has anything really changed? Which is my point. People will risk at least some privacy for convenience and that's always been true, right or wrong.
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Pretty much. Hell, think about how many people still use a password of "password", "password1", "Password1", "Password1!", or some other variant and of course they use that same password on every single site and service they have an account with. You would think that with some huge breach happening every 1-3 months for the past 15 years that people would stop doing that, but no.

Hell, even if you remove convenience from the equation, people still cannot get it through their heads to not open random email attachments, visit random websites loaded with malware(even when you tell them specifically "don't ever go to this site again, it's why your computer was running like crap" they'll do it in a week), click "yes/ok/whatever" on every popup they see, and so on.

The average consumer doesn't give a crap about security until it affects them in a major way(I'm talking lifechanging, like your entire retirement disappearing kind of major), and even most of those people will still go back to their crap habits pretty quickly.
 
Megalith said:
It was the ease with which the doll was compromise that was most concerning.
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I'm amazed this surprised anyone, what does Mattel know about IT security? And how could you secure something like this and still sell it for a price anyone would want to pay?
 
How long until a NSA Barbie is introduced?

Wonder what the legal ramifications are for Mattel and the business partners that share the data collected when young Sally starts confiding in Barbie about weird uncle Bob that likes to play "dress up" with Sally when Mommy is out shopping?
 
Few weeks back on CSI: Cyber (yes I'm ashamed to admit I watch it) they had something similar with someone hacking a wifi toy. I swear that show is out to scare everyone.
 
I was thinking the same think that Barbie is on the NSA payroll now. Before you had to worry about "big brother" now we have big sister.

Has there been more asked about the answers she give back to a child asking it questions? Sounds like a great advertisement tool.

Or the phrase that pays "Mommy, daddy, when will we have a woman President?"
 
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