This Hacker Caught a Toy 'Accidentally' Spying on 6 Million Kids

Christmas is right around the corner and parents are looking for the perfect gift for their children. There’s an endless supply to choose from, but high tech toys are all the rage. But this holiday season, you’ll want to take a second look, it appears not all toys are safe for play. Which toys should be on your “do not buy” list this Christmas?

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[jenn]

Mad respect for the hacker reporting the tablet situation instead of doing bad things with it. Wow.

[ephvvonlyway]

Fraud isn't even the worst thing that could happen to kids. They can be physically kidnapped and trafficked, since the addresses were given

[thesecondantagoniser]

The fact that they prosecuted a hacker who tried to warn people about devices which didn't take necessary precautions to protect children is disgusting.

[nishikigoi.]

*Story time:*
I remember when I was around 5 I had the My Friend Cayla Doll. At the time, it was sitting on my wardrobe directly in front of my bed, basically watching me whenever I slept. I never had any problems with it until one night. I was sleeping in my bed and woke up to the sound of a few grown men speaking in my room, they were saying my name and laughing. I was confused and petrified since I couldn’t tell where their voices were coming from. After a couple minutes I realised their voices were coming from the My Friend Cayla Doll. By this point I was hysterical and my parents were in my room yelling at the men. To conclude, I don’t think I ever saw that doll again after that night.

[laegume]

The fact that the Evil Stick had stolen art work on the packaging (an offbrand Cardcaptor Sakura), the random comic/manga pictures on the inside, and that one photo of a vampire woman, also shows how far art thieves can go when it comes to stealing from artists.

[ASharkNamedWaffle]

Personally I think children toys should never be able to connect to wifi.
When I grew up I only played with regular car toys and plastic animals. It was simple as that.
I also had a few educatonal pc games for kids and they didnt had any online function. A simple cd with a simple software you installed on the pc. No wifi stuff.

I am happy i grew up with normal plastic/metal toys instead of a tablet.

[shahdqaid]

It's very sad to think that people make toys JUST to be able to spy on children, Hopefully everyone stays safe and happy holidays everyone :)



edit: Thank u guys so much for the amount of likes and happy new year to everyone :D

[fredziffle]

We found out the reason our dogs barked at night. We put a camera in the room & noticed that just before the dogs barked the light on the xbox would come on as if someone had turned it on & there was a loud metallic screech. We unplugged the xbox & the dogs no longer bark in the middle of the night. Be aware these things can be hacked.

[ltsKenzie]

Anyone who remembers the cactus toy that swears last year? People somehow MANAGE to ruin christmas all the time.

[LexNonARegeEstViolanda]

This is scary because there are parents who don't really believe their kids and think their kids just have wild imaginations. If a kid went to her parents to say the doll told her to go to a park or something, they probably wouldn't believe her. Next thing they know, the kid could be sneaking out to meet a kidnapper, idk.

I know this sounds far fetched, but I come from a Third World Country where kidnapping is quite common. No matter how much we teach children not to talk to strangers or to never wander too far from their parents, it's not enough. Kidnappings takes only a few seconds when the parents aren't attentive.

[v.nikkijohnson]

It really amazes me how criminals will use their "smarts" for the wrong reason rather than to use what they can do and make a ton of legitimate money.

[Sadtoday]

I almost bought my toddler a tablet because I let them watch movies because I have a really old tablet attached to a DVD player I use for him but something told me no and I’m glad I listened because pretty much were all being spied on at all times, all of our information is not secure and it’s scary people nowadays forget how precious that information is given your name and birthdate I think all the parents that got one should do a lawsuit.

[blueberymufn]

Neopets also marketed as a kid friendly website had a huuuge data breech and they did not handle it well at all

[epli]

Why do I get this terrifying feeling of falling down an endlessly dark pit while watching this video? Brave new world we're living in atm.

[milochondria]

MAD RESPECT FOR ADDING SUBTITLES, happy holidays guys :3

[calidreams]

The dollar store owner is definitely not normal to think that the evil stick was a toy appropriate for kids any age. The fact that he defended it instead of apologizing and returning the merchandise to the manufacturer is unbelievable.

[karolinakozlowska]

Parents shouldn't be so naive when they give out personal information, tho, especially when their kids are involved. Nothing is ever confidential and private. It's sad, but it's true.

[unbeatabel]

Props to the hacker for not abusing their ability👏🏻

[flamingofan]

For the tablet, that doesn't seem like an accident especially since Slipstream was cautious enough to tell a journalist instead of Vtech as they would probably of just covered it up as he said. For the second one, I think it's weird that the people who made Cayla didn't take some precautions to try and prevent anyone for hooking up to the wifi.
And for the 3rd one. All I can say is, only in Ohio.

[FirstDarkAngel]

The creator of the evilstick should be slapped with a lawsuit or two, even if it's just for the art on the box itself. The character on the box is known as Cardcaptor Sakura, which is owned by Clamp, and I know they'd never create something like that because of how popular the anime, manga, and movies are.