A Teddy Bear hacked to spy on kids by an Eleven-year-old Kid

Updated Wednesday 17 May 2017 12:42

Cyber security experts are stunned an 11-year-old boy who hacked a robotic teddy bear and turned it into a covert surveillance device.

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Reuben Paul from Austin, Texas, demonstrated the hack live on stage at theInternational World Conference 2017 in the Netherlands.

Using a £35 Raspberry Pi computer, Reuben scanned the hall for available Bluetooth devices, and identified one belonging to a robotic teddy bear he had brought along for the purpose.

The bear connects to the so-called "internet of things" via WiFi and Bluetooth, so that it can send and receive messages.

Reuben then used a programming language called Python to hack the bear and take control of its functions, turning on one of its lights and recording a message from the audience.

He explained to the crowd that anything that connects to internet of things (IoT) "can be used and weaponised to spy on us or harm us" - including seemingly innocent toys.

For example, they could be used to steal private information such as passwords, as remote surveillance devices to spy on kids, or to locate a person using GPS.

Toys could even be programmed to say "meet me at this location and I will pick you up," he said.

Despite his young age, Reuben has already made a name for himself as a "cyber ninja".

With the help of his parents and industry leaders, he founded CyberShaolin - a non-profit organisation that aims to equip kids with cybersecurity skills using videos and games.

Paul's father, Mano, told AFP he was "shocked" by the vulnerabilities his son had discovered in kids' toys. Reuben first hacked a toy car, before moving on to more complicated things.

"It means that my kids are playing with timebombs, that over time somebody who is bad or malicious can exploit," he said.

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