Ransom sought: Stuffed toys leak millions of kids & parents recordings

[laserhaas]

Last edited Tue Feb 28, 2017, 03:02 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNN Money

Recorded messages spoken to teddy bears could pose privacy risks for children.

A security vulnerability allowed anyone to view personal information, photos and recordings of children's voices from CloudPets toys. And at one point, some people tried to hold all of that information for ransom.

According to a report compiled by security researcher Troy Hunt, over 820,000 user accounts were exposed. That includes 2.2 million voice recordings

The data is no longer publicly accessible. But CloudPets has not informed users of the leak, and as far as researchers know, the passwords are still active. This could be a violation of the law. In California, the government requires companies to notify users if their information was exposed online. CloudPets, and its maker Spiral Toys, are based in California.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/27/technology/cloudpets-data-leak-voices-photos/

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Link to Troy Hunt details

https://www.troyhunt.com/data-from-connected-cloudpets-teddy-bears-leaked-and-ransomed-exposing-kids-voice-messages/


Roseanne Bar posted another story, on Twitter, with more important titlings

Link to tweet

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. I must say, I don't understand why people are so enamored of The Cloud.

Having your stuff on The Cloud simply means it's on someone else's hard drive. One you don't control.

[laserhaas]

2. Correct...Cloud means web. Not just on a server

On a whole bunch of array/ back ups...anywhere

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. And you're putting a lot of faith

that the third party involved will properly protect your information. That's a leap of faith I personally don't want to make.

[laserhaas]

8. Concur..we cant trust the pros

Much less the amateurs

[Crash2Parties]

21. Plus, what happens when they go under / get sold / terminate that particular service...

Audits are a PITA, too, compared to just keeping the data in-house. And then there's access lag & outages.

Cloud looks great to managers looking to cut headcount & hardware costs, though...gotta make those next-Q numbers.

Really, though, this is just the latest iteration of the old thin-client / thick-client cycle. The true solution, of course, lies somewhere in between and is often a blend, but a different balance point for each application of the available technologies.

[snooper2]

7. Can be via intertubes can be via private network

[lagomorph777]

12. My phone is constantly nagging me to give away all my data.

F that.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

30. +1000 I don't understand it either

I use the cloud but only the one I own. It lives in my basement. Multiple firewalls and authentication involved.

But, then again, it's software. It's all a lot of 1s and 0s. How hard can it be?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. Sounds like you have your own private

server and so long as you know exactly how to maintain it, that's a good solution. I just have my desk top and my laptop, connected to the internet, but I have some anti-virus programs installed, and depend on the Geek Squad for anything more complicated.

I gather that with a lot of newer devices, everything is automatically stored in the Cloud.

I hate it that often when I go to a commercial website of some sort, it wants me to share my location. I never do that. I also never click the Like button on FB. Nor to I spread some post that I agree with it, just because I'm exhorted to do so. Even among people who should know better, those sorts of things are posted daily on their FB pages. I might make a comment about something, but that's the extent of it.

Then again, I have a very high sense of privacy.

[Renew Deal]

3. No one could see that coming

[laserhaas]

4. The bigger thingy...is kids names and addresses

Pizza-gators are a big problem ..here

[KittyWampus]

9. Your comment made me laugh. This has got to be the biggest... "KICK ME" sign

anyone could stick on themselves.

TARGET ME I'M AN IDIOT> we need laws to protect people from their own stupidity.

[laserhaas]

17. Bill Engval

Here's your sign

[Crash2Parties]

22. "Now, I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject," he added.

"Nobody knew cyber security could be so complicated."

[Peachhead22]

6. Amazon Echo and Dot, and Google Home

Exactly the reason I would never have voice activated devices like those in my home either.

And yes, "the cloud" is a euphemism for "other peoples hard drives".

[laserhaas]

10. World is becoming ...too much..1984 on steroids

[Mendocino]

11. 1984 or Brave New World?

Or some of both?

[Blue_Tires]

13. Why the hell do kids needs stuffed toys with online connectivity?

[KittyWampus]

25. because killing of a kid's imagination at a young age helps leave them

easily manipulated group-think types.

[lagomorph777]

14. "Ransome" - "Ransom"

I was wondering who Ransome is and how he got in trouble...

[laserhaas]

15. Dam..caught by grammer police..again

[lagomorph777]

16. Thanks for humoring my OCD.

[laserhaas]

18. Noted and corrected

Just hate seeing an "Edit" red tag, in the thread

[lagomorph777]

19. It's the red badge of courage.

Half of my posts wear it proudly.

[laserhaas]

20. LoL

[Renew Deal]

23. I thought it might be English for random

I speak American

[ColemanMaskell]

27. grammer? Maybe grammar. Or even spelling. (Interesting post though, agreed?)

[YOHABLO]

24. Hmm so much to say, so much to hide. Just plain stupid.

[laserhaas]

26. Most of our world has gone ...completely

Nutz

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

28. Teddy bear spies... That's the source of the White House leaks.

Trump has been betrayed by his favorite teddy.

[laserhaas]

29. Awesome

Ruxpin repeating oval room chit chat