A child safety warning has been issued over'smart' toys that can be hacked via their Bluetooth connections. The security loophole means that it is possible for strangers to connect to the toys and talk to children without their parents' knowledge. Consumer group Which? said an investigation found'worrying security failures' with the I-Que Intelligent Robot, Furby Connect, Toy-fi Teddy, and CloudPets cuddly toy. It has written to retailers asking them to stop selling the toys ahead of Christmas until the security problems have been resolved. A child safety warning has been issued over'smart' toys that can be hacked via their Bluetooth connections.

Not to be a Grinch or a Scrooge, but you'd better watch out when it comes to some of this season's hottest Christmas toys. Last year, I wrote about Mattel's Hello Barbie, which responds realistically to your child by using natural language processing, machine learning and advanced analytics to parse what a child says and respond accordingly. In order to do this, the toy has to record what the child says, send it to a cloud-based server, and receive instructions back. On Barbie, there's a "listen" button the child has to press to start recording what she says in order to get a response. Mattel claims that only they and their tech partner (currently) have access to these recordings, but with the newest generation of talking toys, the audience is a bit larger.

Are YOUR kids internet-connected toys being used to spy on them? Claims hi-tech gadgets'fail to protect privacy' Consumer watchdogs claim internet connected toys collect kids' personal data The complaint cites My Friend Cayla and I-Que Intelligent Robot as'spy toys' It argues that audio of conversations is taken without proper parental consent Along with this, it says they hold potential for strangers to eavesdrop on kids Consumer watchdogs claim internet connected toys collect kids' personal data The complaint cites My Friend Cayla and I-Que Intelligent Robot as'spy toys' They're calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the firms behind My Friend Cayla (pictured) and I-Que Intelligent Robot, citing manufacturer Genesis Toys and Nuance Communications, which provides third-party voice recognition software Do plants learn like humans? You can FINALLY'like' or disable comments on Instagram... Are YOU affected? Massive Dailymotion hack sees more than 85... Do plants learn like humans? You can FINALLY'like' or disable comments on Instagram... Are YOU affected?