Innocent-looking smart toys
AI-powered and internet-connected toys provide much more than just entertainment for children. They boost creativity and develop social, motor, problem-solving, and other skills that can significantly impact their future performance. However, buying smart toys can be a not-so-smart idea – along with bringing kids joy, they can also attract hackers and identity thieves.
Security flaws are common, even in toys from parents’ most-trusted toy brands. Mattel’s Wi-Fi-connected Barbie doll, My Friend Cayla, Fisher-Price’s Chatter Bluetooth telephone, VTech InnoTab Max, Furby Connect doll, and many other toys have been labeled by cybersecurity experts as spying devices. Because of their security gaps, hackers can turn their cameras and microphones on and use them to see and hear everything the toy sees and hears. Moreover, fraudsters can interact with your children, give them orders, extract secrets or collect data, and track their location. In addition, the data collected can be used for blackmail and ransom demands or sold on the dark web or to advertisers.
Spying webcams
The desire to protect your home space from burglars can backfire – you can find yourself being spied on by others. That’s exactly what happened to Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest security cameras when malicious actors hacked them to surveil, threaten, and insult people who own them.
In one case, a home’s Ring camera loudspeaker started playing a song that a girl heard, so she went to investigate. When she came into the room where the camera was located, a deep masculine voice spoke to her through the camera speaker, saying that he was Santa Claus and calling her racist slurs.
In another Ring hack case, the virtual intruder harassed a woman, calling her vulgar names and asking her to respond.
Similar situations have also occurred with Nest camera holders. A few families reported that hackers talked to them through these cameras and messed with house thermostats by cranking up the heat.
These are just a few examples of how you can unexpectedly become a victim of cybercrime, which in addition to home security cameras, can happen with baby monitors or even pet cams.
Risky home cleanliness
The truth is that robot vacuum cleaners make life much easier. You can mind your own business while a robot vacuum sweeps your house. Although it may seem that cleaning dust from the floor is its sole task, in the hands of fraudsters, it can have a wholly different purpose as a spying device that may make you a victim of cybercrime.
Researchers revealed that hackers who gained access to a robot vacuum cleaner could get a house map or its GPS as well as record people’s conversations by repurposing its LiDAR sensors to act as microphones. In addition, some robot vacuums can enable hackers to take control of the vacuum or even watch the live video feed produced by the device. All this collected data can be sold to advertisers or used by criminals to plan a robbery or other crimes.
Deadly medical devices
It is no longer surprising that we can become victims of cybercrime when our bank card details are stolen or our mobile devices or online accounts are hacked. All this is nothing compared to what can happen when malicious actors hack into medical devices such as pacemakers, implanted defibrillators, drug-infusion pumps, and other health tech gadgets, which can have fatal consequences.
In 2017, the FDA recalled 465,000 pacemakers after the security firm, MedSec, found security flaws that could allow hackers to reprogram the devices and put patients’ lives at risk. For the same reason, doctors replaced former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney’s heart defibrillator so it couldn’t be hacked by terrorists who might try to kill him. Infusion pumps automating the delivery of medications and nutrients into patients’ bodies can also become deadly weapons if hackers increase the doses. Moreover, such hijacked healthcare devices can be used to steal personal or medical records or even urge victims to go to the hospital by sending them false messages about their medical condition, so they leave their houses unattended.
How to protect
While some of the above-mentioned connected devices have no recorded cases of anyone maliciously hacking them, various investigations by cybersecurity experts have shown that the potential for problems exists. Therefore, security measures must be put in place to avoid any possible threats.
Don’t recycle passwords. Create complex and unique ones for all your connected devices and accounts.
Where it’s possible, set up multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Use secure Wi-Fi and make sure its password is hard to guess.
If you have a problem remembering different passwords for your accounts, use a password manager.
Always keep the software of your devices up to date. Updates patch potential security flaws.
When the device is not being used, for example, a vacuum robot or kid’s toy, unplug it or turn it off, so it stops collecting data.
If it’s possible to use the device without the internet, disconnect it.
Make sure that the smartphone you have connected to your devices is malware free.
Stay vigilant, and don’t provide your or your kid’s personally identifiable information if it’s not necessary. For example, children’s toys can be updated without knowing your kid’s age. However, be sure to provide the correct contact details so that developers can notify you of possible updates or security flaws.
About Version 2 Digital
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.
Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.
About Nord Security
The web has become a chaotic space where safety and trust have been compromised by cybercrime and data protection issues. Therefore, our team has a global mission to shape a more trusted and peaceful online future for people everywhere.
Tom Okman, Co-founder of Nord Security
Since the establishment of Nord Security and until this year, we have operated without external funding – and we have learned many lessons. Last week, I had the great honor of presenting our main takeaways from this bootstrapping journey on the stage of Web Summit. Here are the four main insights that I shared for founders focused on bootstrapping their business:
#1 Perfect your company’s mission
Your company’s mission is not just a catchy slogan you place on your “About” page and then forget about it. Your mission is the underlying DNA of every meeting and every creative solution, and it works in the background every time your people decline offers from other companies.
When you raise funding, it’s easy to lose sight of why you started your company in the first place. But when you are bootstrapping, your mission and your customers guide your business path. So bootstrapping founders, instead of focusing on raising the next round of funding, look for innovative ways to turn their mission into a reality. They are also more receptive to what customers are saying to them. That feedback naturally helps polish and evolve your mission over time, which in turn helps improve your corporate and product strategies. And it comes with a bonus – the company develops a solid internal culture.
#2 Build local, ship global
Some entrepreneurs are wary of using local talent pools, especially if the business is starting outside established startup hubs like Silicon Valley or Israel. However, that was not the case in our story. In fact, we were fortunate to start our company in Lithuania. While funding was scarce when we started, the local ecosystem, partners, and infrastructure helped us immensely in getting our business off the ground. People in Lithuania are talented and keen to prove themselves to their international peers. So one of our best decisions early in the business was to tap into that talent pool and support from local associations and policymakers.
Today, more than ever, talent and support for entrepreneurs are spread throughout Europe, both in traditional tech hubs and rising startup center’s. As a result, the startup world is getting flatter, so now is the best time to take advantage of building locally while shipping globally.
#3 Focus on the customer
Customers are royalty, especially when entrepreneurs operate without external funding. In such cases, customers become leading investors and the most sustainable source of financing, and startups must focus on them above all else. So to be successful, entrepreneurs have to build a product that their customers will love and want to pay for, meaning that creating a market fit for products becomes central to a startup’s survival. Unfortunately, you don’t have a large treasure chest on your side when you are bootstrapped, so the key is to be efficient in adapting to your customer’s feedback.
#4 Take risks and be nimble
The bootstrapping route empowers entrepreneurs to take charge of the big decisions when it comes to vision, hiring, operations, or finances. That gives self-funded startups an edge because they can be much more flexible, agile, and tenacious than other companies. But at the same time, not taking outside financing pushes entrepreneurs to be hungrier in finding ways to improve their business. Because knowing that customers are critical, you can’t simply spend your way out of problems. In Nord Security’s case, it usually meant taking risks and being the pioneer in educating the market and customers about a new use case, product feature, or upcoming challenges.
While such a situation might sound precarious, in a way, it also means returning to what makes startup culture great – the ability and willingness to be inventive and take risks. But it is essential to be decisive when things need to be fixed and be bold in pivoting because inertia can sometimes be more dangerous than recklessness. This combination can prove extremely potent if entrepreneurs allow themselves to be guided by their leading investors – the customers – and their mission-driven culture. But only if founders are willing to lean into it fully. 
