“Hello Barbie” Doll – She’s All Fun and Games – Until Your Wireless Network Gets Hacked!

In case you missed it - this morning we talked about one of the hot new toys out there - "Hello Barbie". Mattel had done research that told them that the one thing kids wanted Barbie dolls to do, was to talk to them. So, they came up with a doll that uses a Wi-Fi connection to the internet and voice recognition software to respond when asked a question. The technology is a lot like the system used by Siri, in iPhones. At the unveiling in New York, in March, the Mattel rep introduced Hello Barbie by saying, "Welcome to New York." To which Barbie replied, "I love New York. Don't you?"

Cool, but the problem is - anything using the internet can be hacked. In fact, last week a guy named Matt Jakubowski told NBC Chicago that he could get into a home wireless network through a "Hello Barbie" and hear everything a child would tell Barbie, plus hack into your information.

This video shows how it works. Yeah, it's creepy.

Banana Don and Stephanie McCoy amuse and thrill you every weekday morning from 5:30 –10AM on the radio at 100.7 WITL.
Banana Don can be reached via email at don.jefferson@townsquaremedia.com and on Twitter at @WITLBananaDon and @WITLFM. Also, Facebook friend Banana Don and Stephanie at Facebook.com/BananaStephanie and Facebook.com/WITLFM.