Mattel Toys Is A Great Company! They Are Not "Big Brother."

Two page magazine ad from 1957

Having said that truth (It truly is a great toy company) here is something that has just come up on the net...

Earlier this year Mattel unveiled "Hello Barbie," a $74.99 wi-fi equipped interactive doll.  

Users press a button on Barbie's belt to start a conversation and the recorded audio is processed over the internet so that the doll can respond appropriately.

 The doll also remembers the user's likes and dislikes.

Now Security Researcher Matt Jakubowski claims that he has managed to hack the Hello Barbie system to extract wi-fi network names, account IDs and MP3 files, which could be used to track down someone's home.

 "You can take that information and find out a person's house or business.

 It's just a matter of time until we are able to replace their servers with ours and have her say anything we want," Jakubowski warned. 

Mattel partnered with ToyTalk to develop "Hello Barbie." ToyTalk CEO Oren Jacob said:

 "An enthusiastic researcher has reported finding some device data and called that a hack.

 While the path that the researcher used to find that data is not obvious and not user-friendly, it is important to note that all that information was already directly available to Hello Barbie customers through the Hello Barbie Companion App. 

No user data, no Barbie content, and no major security or privacy protections have been compromised to our knowledge."

 A petition by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood asking Mattel to drop the doll has already been signed by over 6,000 people.

NOTE: The original reporting of this hack appears to have been this NBC-Chicago newscast.

This doll is a very creative toy and is using innovative combining of modern technology to make a fun toy.

I certainly hope they iron out this glitch and continue to market the toy doll.

Mattel has always been one of the best toy companies around, don't give up on them because they will do everything possible to secure the Hello Barbie Doll.

The world's largest toy company, Mattel, Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes a wide variety of toy products in 150 countries. 

The company's products include a number of core toy lines.   

 Barbie dolls, clothing, and accessories; Hot Wheels toy die-cast vehicles; Warner Bros. merchandise.

 Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, and Looney Tunes products; the American Girls Collection of books, dolls, clothing, and accessories; Fisher-Price infant and preschool toys.

 Including Little People figures and playsets and toys based on various licensed characters from sources such as Disney and Sesame Street; and games such as Scrabble and UNO. 

The company's toys are produced in company-owned manufacturing facilities in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and Thailand, as well as through independent contractors located in the United States, Europe, Mexico, the Far East, and Australia. 

 Approximately 36 percent of 2002 revenues was generated outside the United States, with 60 percent of international sales originating in Europe.

 During 2002, about half of Mattel's revenues was derived through three main retail customers: 

 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Toys 'R' Us, Inc., and Target Corporation. Mattel's toys have delighted generations of children throughout the world.

 Employees: 25,000

The Mattel Story. 

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