FBI Warns: Your Child's Toy May Be Spying On You

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - Could your children's toys be spying on you? It's a scary thought, but it's possible, according to authorities.

The FBI is warning parents of privacy risks associated with internet-connected toys which may have microphones, cameras, GPS and/or speech recognition capabilities and may store data.

David Derigiotis, corporate vice president of the Southfield firm Burns and Wilcox, which deals with technology and network security, said this has been known to happen.

"A doll, a number of months ago, that prompted a big scare, they were collecting information on the parents, what school the children go to, where they live," he told WWJ's Zahra Huber. "So there's a personal profile that's being created on the kids."

The FBI says data collected from interactions or conversations between children and toys are typically sent and stored by the manufacturer or developer via server or cloud service. In some cases, it is also collected by third-party companies who manage the voice recognition software used in the toys.

Voice recordings, passwords, home addresses, Wi-Fi information, or sensitive personal data could be exposed if the security of the data is not sufficiently protected with the proper use of digital certificates and encryption when it is being transmitted or stored.

Derigiotis said parents should research each product to see if there are any security issues or breaches that are associate with it, connect only to a secure Wi-Fi, be aware of what type of data is being collected and who they're sharing it with, turn off the device when it's not being used and monitor your children while they're playing.

Get more tips and information from the FBI about internet-connected toys at this link.