With the way technology had advanced in recent years, many of the most in-demand and impressive toys are connected to the internet and phones via Bluetooth and other streaming services.
The rise of the ‘smart toy’ has brought with it a new danger, however, with more and more families being ‘spied on’, or becoming the victims of hackers through these internet-connected gadgets.
According to new research published this week, one-in-five kids in the UK could be spied on through internet-connected toys as well as phones and tablets, and experts have called on parents to always read the privacy policies accompanying these items as a result.
The warning comes on the same day a US computer company revealed that new search engines have been created to hack private webcams in homes around the country and, indeed, across the world.
Ars Technica admitted that government regulation may be required, after it emerged that these search engines have been easily accessing and streaming videos from webcams that don’t have password authentication.
If these reports tell us anything, it’s that we need to read the fine print on each and every gadget we bring into the house, and take as many safety and privacy precautions as possible to protect ourselves and our information.
