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VTech hack calls for a data ethical approach to internet connected toys

News: One of the biggest hacks this year was one that exposed the personal details of kids and their parents. The anonymous person who hacked the servers of the company Vtech that makes internet connected toys and gadgets, gained access to the personal details (names, addresses etc.) of 4,833,678 parents and the first names, genders and birthdays of more than 200,000 kids. He also found 190gb worth of images and many other types of sensitive data.

The hack was revealed to a Motherboard journalist who describes the details of the hack here: One of the Largest Hacks Yet Exposes Data on Hundreds of Thousands of Kids

The data breach poses a range of questions to the company’s very handling of data of a group of citizens that are particularly exposed to cyber crime. Children’s personal data is for example often targeted by identity thieves that will look for “clean” identities to take over. But more importantly we are reminded about the necessity to ensure an ethical approach to data innovation in the development of internet connected toys in general. Where do we draw the line?

Here are some of the questions we need to ask to innovation in this field: “A Toy that Wants to Call home”