Cassandra’s curse was to know the future truly, but when she spoke, no one would believe her. Those of us who write about security and privacy know the feeling. Worse than those who ignored Cassandra are those who believed her and were swept away by the tides of fate. These last few weeks have had aspects of both being heard and being brushed off.
On February 17, Germany’s Federal Network Agency banned My Friend Cayla, a doll with voice-recognition technology, by declaring it an espionage device, because the manufacturer didn’t meet the country’s requirements for disclose and security for recording conversations. “Dangers arise directly from toys being used as espionage devices: with the awareness of parents, childrens’ speech and that of other people can be recorded and forwarded,” the agency wrote.
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