I spy with my little eye:

THINGS THAT SPY ON ME

12:32 12:32

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Danger ranking
To help you understand the potential dangers that come with smart products
weve given each item a danger rating out of 10 based on the physical,
financial or emotional consequences of being hacked or spied on.
See some examples of our ratings below...

HOW TO PLAY I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGS
1..... Choose the first player
to be the spy.

4..... Get the other players to take

it in turns to ask questions
about the object. If there are
more than two players, have
each person ask one question
per turn. Make sure the player
only answers with a yes
or a no.

2..... Give the spy this manual to

flick through and ask them to
find an object in the book thats
also in the place youre playing.
Once chosen do not reveal the
object to the rest of the players.

Contents
4...........Introduction

21..........Smart Smoke Alarm

6...........Smart Alarm

22.........Speakers

7...........Smart Baby Monitor

23.........Streaming Box

8...........Computer

24..........Tablets

9...........Internet Connected Car

25.........Smart Television

10..........Wi-Fi Digital Camera

26.........Smart Thermostat

11..........Smart Door Locks

27.........Smart Toilet

12..........Ebook Reader

28.........Smart Toys

13..........Energy Meter

29.........Smart Vacuum Cleaner

14..........Wearable Fitness Trackers

30.........Smart Washing Machine

15..........Games Consoles

31..........Smart Watch

16..........Smart Home Lighting

32.........Webcam

17..........Smart Oven

33.........Top Tips

18..........Smart Radio

34.........Top 50 Devices

19..........Smart Refrigerator

36.........Glossary Of Terms

20.........Smartphone

5..... Keep guessing until the correct

object is identified.

3..... Begin the game by saying,

I spy with my little eye
something beginning with
___ The blank should be the
letter that the smart object
begins with such as W for
Smart Watch or Webcam.

6..... The first person to guess the

object correctly becomes the
new spy. Pass this manual to
them and continue the game!

I Spy With My Little Eye

12:32

The guessing game I spy with my

little eye is a family favourite that
stretches back to the early 20th
century and remains a popular
pastime in households and on
long car journeys the world over
to this day.

With every purchase of the latest

smart product, the once inanimate,
analogue contents of our homes are
gradually being replaced by devices
continually connected to and
communicating with the wider world.
The benefits these products bring to
our daily lives are numerous and well
documented. But the risks they
could pose to our privacy and
security are less well known.

In the past it was arguably only the

objects of the game that were being
spied upon. However, in a digital
world, the spying can go both ways.
Indeed, today millions of us have
welcomed appliances, services and
products into our homes that have
the potential to watch and listen to
what were doing, what were saying
and even when were playing I spy
with my little eye.

Whether its hackers compromising

internet-connected household
appliances or corporations
surreptitiously gathering data on
homeowners through these products
and services, we have never before
been so exposed. The rules of
privacy are being rewritten,
and we are struggling to keep up.

From smart fridges to TVs and even

childrens dolls, the so-called
Internet of Things arrived and
thrived without us even realising it.

Each smart product has been given a

danger rating based on the physical,
financial and emotional damage that
could be caused as a result of spying
and hacking.

This unique book has been designed

as a useful manual for families to help
them protect their personal privacy
in relation to connected devices.
It encourages families to play the
age-old guessing game I spy
with my little eye as a simple and
fun way to educate both parents
and children about the litany of
modern household objects that
could spy on them or be hacked
for malicious purposes.

Created and written by one of

the worlds leading VPN providers,
Hide My Ass!, in conjunction with
security and privacy expert Marcus
Dempsey, the book will allow families
to make informed choices about the
connected products they buy while
also helping them to understand the
threats these products could pose to
their personal privacy and security.

The ambition of the book is to

encourage families all over the world
to play games of I spy with my little
eye exclusively around the internet
of things and discover how much of
their home could spy on them.

Something beginning with A

Something beginning with B

SMART ALARM
A smart burglar alarm is a sophisticated home-wide alarm system
that communicates with your smartphone via an app.

SMART BABY MONITOR

The new array of smart baby monitors provide parents with the clearest
and most sophisticated connection to their infants when they are out
of immediate distance.

Vulnerabilities
Hackers able to compromise home security systems could deactivate the
system entirely. If the home security system is linked to door locks hackers could
not just deactivate the surveillance and alarms, but open doors to homes.

Vulnerabilities
Hackers can hack into smart baby monitors and frighten infants by playing malicious
messages through the products speakers. For smart baby monitors with video
functionality hackers could play inappropriate content on the screen. Smart baby
monitor cameras can be hacked into and used for spying on a family.

Something beginning with C

Something beginning with C

COMPUTER
Computers and especially laptops are part of daily life. If anyone uses
a computer or laptop chances are it is connected to the internet either
via cable or wireless.

INTERNET-CONNECTED CAR
A connected car is equipped with internet access, allowing the vehicle
to communicate with other devices inside and outside the vehicle.
Internet connected cars can provide many benefits to the driver including
automatic notification of crashes, notification of speeding and safety alerts.

Vulnerabilities
Private or corporate information could be obtained by hackers, the hard drive could
be corrupted through viruses and malware, passwords could be obtained through
brute force attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks could be employed to obtain
passwords over the wireless and the webcam could be activated and used for spying.

Vulnerabilities
A recent experiment* proved that critical driving aids, such as the brakes, steering
and acceleration could be manipulated and deactivated wirelessly by hackers.
Hackers can also change the temperature and power of vents, switch radio stations,
activate windscreen wipers and wiper fluid and compromise in-car digital
displays and readouts.
*www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway/

Something beginning with D

Something beginning with D

WI-FI DIGITAL CAMERA

Wi-Fi enabled digital cameras allow the user to download their images onto
another device with ease. However, they can also provide a gateway for
hackers to snoop on your personal images.

SMART DOOR LOCKS

Smart door locks allow homeowners to lock and unlock their doors without
the need for a key. Control of the door locking system is generally achieved
through a linked smartphone app.

Vulnerabilities
Photographs taken on an internet-connected digital camera could be intercepted by
hackers and stolen. If you have any private family photographs or intimate images
these could be used against you by the hackers. Alternatively, cybercriminals could
upload malicious and inappropriate images onto the camera.

Vulnerabilities
Hackers can intercept smart lock knock knock passwords from door lock apps
(broadcast via Bluetooth / Wi-Fi) and use this to gain entry to a home. If an owners
phone is stolen then the thief has full access to the app and the door locking system,
potentially allowing them to steal far more than a phone.

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Something beginning with E

Something beginning with E

8.92
EBOOK READER
While they might not have brought down the paperback book,
EBook readers are nevertheless very popular devices allowing people
to download and read books on the go as and when they like.

ENERGY METER
Smart meters are the next generation of gas and electricity meters
for premises. They offer a range of functions for telling you how much
energy is being used through a display in the premises.

Vulnerabilities
Hackers could obtain personal information and credit card details
through man-in-the-middle attacks.

Vulnerabilities
Personal activity information could potentially be obtained by hackers. After a
number of days analysing this data trends will begin to appear showing when the
premise is unoccupied. Energy data can enable companies to profile homeowners
and delve into their personal lives for marketing purposes.

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Something beginning with F

Something beginning with G

PM
67B

WEARABLE FITNESS TRACKERS

Fitness trackers allow you to keep track of your fitness in real time,
providing the wearer with a greater insight into their health than ever before.
Vulnerabilities
Devices like fitness trackers could potentially allow tech-savvy burglars to track
your location. However, by and large, the concerns surrounding fitness trackers
are aimed more at corporate data mining and the potential for the
commercialisation of a persons fitness.

GAMES CONSOLES
Consoles are no longer just for playing games. Nowadays they
are continually connected entertainment hubs, enabling streaming and
downloading of videos and music, internet browsing and communications.
Vulnerabilities
The current generation of internet-connected consoles are often linked to owners
personal information and credit card details. This sensitive information could be
obtained through hacks, as was the case in 2011*, when thousands of users of a
consoles network saw their data swiped by hackers.
*www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13192359
and uk.playstation.com/psn/news/articles/detail/item369506/PSN-Qriocity-Service-Update/

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Something beginning with H

Something beginning with O

SMART HOME LIGHTING

Smart home lighting provides a convenient and energy efficient way to
illuminate a home and affords the homeowner greater control than ever
over their lighting, from tone to contrast and colour.

SMART OVEN
A smart oven can save energy, allow you to control the temperature from
your smartphone and tablet, and might even come with an internal oven cam
so you can keep a close eye on your food as it cooks.

Vulnerabilities
Personal activity information could potentially be obtained, after a number of days
watching, trends will appear showing when the premise is unoccupied. A recent
experiment* has revealed how easy it is for hackers to hack into network-enabled
LED light bulbs, enabling them to obtain wireless passwords.

Vulnerabilities
If your smart oven falls victim to a hacker its temperature can be arbitrarily set at
any time even when the owner is not at home. Not only could this ruin whatever
you might have cooking, it could also cause a fire that could seriously damage a
home and put personal safety in danger.

*www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28208905

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Something beginning with R

Something beginning with R

SMART RADIO
Smart radios allow the user to listen to thousands of radio stations around
the world, no matter where they are located through streaming content
via the internet.

SMART REFRIGERATOR
Smart fridges can automatically place orders for food items
youre running low on and save energy.

Vulnerabilities
In addition to annoying homeowners by randomly switching radio stations or
manipulating the volume of the radio, malicious people could hack the device
and broadcast inappropriate content through the speakers.

Vulnerabilities
Not only can cybercriminals cause chaos by placing multiple orders of foods you
dont need, they can also deactivate the product, increase the temperature inside
the fridge, steal your email login details, send out spam emails or even swipe your
personal details and credit card information.

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Something beginning with S

Something beginning with S

SMARTPHONE
Today, millions of smartphone users will check their device hundreds of times
a day to browse the internet, make calls, send messages and
consume content on social media.

SMART SMOKE ALARM

Smart smoke alarms allow the user to monitor the status of the smoke alarm,
giving them the opportunity to perform remote tests and check on their
premises while they are offsite.

Vulnerabilities
Smartphones are effectively pocket-sized computers and consequently a conduit
for hackers and dubious organisations to find out a great deal about users.
Malicious persons can obtain personal information through rogue apps, trick the user
into installing malicious apps, hack into cameras, access content on the device and
download inappropriate images onto the device. Smartphones are also vulnerable
to hackers if they are connected to insecure public Wi-Fi networks, such as those
in cafes and restaurants.

Vulnerabilities
Smoke alarms could be potentially turned off by a hacker without the user
being aware. The consequences of this are clear andlife threatening.

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Something beginning with S

Something beginning with S

SPEAKERS
Wireless speakers are used to stream music around a room or to earphones.
Thanks to these devices households can play the same music to multiple
rooms in their home, all without wires, and manually control the speaker
system from their tablets or smartphones.

STREAMING BOX
Dedicated streaming devices allow you to stream thousands of
TV shows and films to your TV at the press of a button.

Vulnerabilities
As with smart radio devices, malicious hackers could activate the speaker system
and stream intimidating, scary sounds and messages through the speakers
at any time of the day or night.

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Vulnerabilities
Hackers could retrieve your personal information including credit card details by
compromising the streaming devices. In addition, they could intercept your traffic
and stream malicious content to your TV.

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Something beginning with T

Something beginning with T

TABLETS
Touchscreen tablets are part and parcel of daily home life, used to aid
everyday tasks, allowing families to work, play, read, view and listen
to content wherever they are.

SMART TELEVISION
Smart TVs offer cutting-edge, high-definition visual quality while also
letting you enjoy apps, surf the web and stream internet videos from
the comfort of your sofa.

Vulnerabilities
Cyber criminals can obtain personal information and credit card details by
hacking tablets. Hackers can trick the user into installing malicious applications and
conduct man-in-the-middle attacks. Tablets are also vulnerable to hackers if they are
connected to insecure public Wi-Fi networks, such as those in cafes and restaurants.

Vulnerabilities
There have already been high-profile scandals involving smart televisions.
Recently one brand of TVs was shown to be capable of listening to peoples voices
and sending that data back to the manufacturer. Another TV brand was criticised
when a parent discovered it could track and record his childrens viewing habits.

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Something beginning with T

Something beginning with T

21C
SMART THERMOSTAT
Smart thermostats can be used to configure the heating of premises through
the use of mobile apps. This affords homeowners greater control over
a homes central heating and energy consumption.

SMART TOILET
High-tech toilets have been all the rage in countries like Japan for decades
and as their technology has evolved demand for smart toilets has expanded,
as have their vulnerabilities to hackers.

Vulnerabilities
Hackers could alter the temperature at a whim or deactivate the central heating
system entirely. Hackers that drastically decrease the temperature or deactivate the
smart thermostat system entirely could create an environment thats very dangerous
for certain people, such as the elderly, who may be susceptible to illnesses arising
from cold temperatures.

Vulnerabilities
Hackers could control the toilets remotely including the lid, flush, bidet and
hot-air blower. Not only could this infuriate or injure owners, it can increase energy
costs through higher water use. In a nightmare scenario hackers could hold
homeowners to ransom by threatening to overflow the toilet every day until the
homeowner pays them a fee.

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Something beginning with T

Something beginning with V

SMART TOYS
Whether its Wi-Fi dolls or smart educational products, as childrens toys
have become more advanced so too have the potential opportunities
for these toys to become conduits for hackers to cause havoc or for
companies to spy on families.

SMART VACUUM CLEANER

Smart vacuums are used for easy human-free cleaning. These robot devices
use sensors to scan the surrounding area and vacuum automatically.

Vulnerabilities
Recently, a childrens doll was famously hacked to say rude words*, while another
well-known brand of doll was red flagged by privacy activists** for recording
childrens voices and sending the audio to the manufacturer via the internet.

Vulnerabilities
While the consequences of a hacker compromising a robot vacuum may not be
as severe as some other household appliances, it can still cause annoyance
to homeowners. Hackers could, for example, override the vacuums sensors
so that they start knocking over objects within the premises.

*www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28208905 ** www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/03/11/
privacy-advocates-try-to-keep-creepy-eavesdropping-hello-barbie-from-hitting-shelves/

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Something beginning with W...

Something beginning with W

12:32

SMART WASHING MACHINE

Smart washing machines allow you to remotely keep control of your washer,
whether its starting the machine while you are out of the house or keeping
an eye on the washing to see when its finished.

SMART WATCH
Smart watches are all the rage at the moment, with all of the leading tech
brands competing to release the most sophisticated, most stylish smart
timepieces around. However, these smart watches could be a ticking
hacking time bomb.

Vulnerabilities
A compromised smart washing machine could be turned on or off and the heat
adjusted by a hacker. This could damage clothes, increase electricity costs and even
cause flooding. Additionally, a hacker could force a washer to run beyond its
maximum speed and temperature. The appliance would soon set on fire, or even
explode, if continually subjected to these forces.

Vulnerabilities
The security concerns around a smart watch are similar to that of a smartphone
or tablet. Indeed, if a hacker was to compromise a smart watch they could raid the
owners personal information, including contacts, pictures, identity and credit card
information, using this to commit fraud.

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Something beginning with W

Hide My Ass! top safety tips when buying

smart products and appliances:
Ensure your Wi-Fi is kept secure by
using WPA2 and a strong secret key.

Protect your router. By putting a VPN,

like Hide My Ass!, on your wireless
router you will better protect multiple
smart objects from hackers and spies.
A router on a VPN will encrypt the data
and prevent third parties from
intercepting the traffic between your
smart devices and the router. You can
purchase routers that come installed
with Hide My Ass! or go to
www.hidemyass.com to find out how
to install it on your existing router.

Where possible, check the

manufacturers website for any
information on vulnerabilities
or issues.
Ensure you use strong passwords for
relevant products and change your
passwords regularly. Never leave the
default password in place!
Where necessary, use antivirus software
and have a strong firewall installed.

Always read the privacy policy or terms

and conditions for any product you
buy so that you are aware of the
implications for your personal data
and privacy.

WEBCAM
Webcams are nothing new. However, as the internet has evolved and
allowed for lag-free video calling, the webcam has become a digital
essential for households.
Vulnerabilities
In 2014 a website posted dozens of live feeds from regular peoples hacked
webcams, causing global privacy concerns*. The ease of the hacks means that
tech-savvy criminals could also intercept web cams to watch when people are
and are not at home and plan a burglary.

For smart childrens toys, if the

product can be operated offline
then disconnect the connection
to the internet.

Ensure you only use trusted wireless

networks and apps.
Use a VPN. A VPN will act as an
intermediary between your device and
the internet server, putting up a further
block for any would-be eavesdroppers
or hackers.

*www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30121159

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Top 50 devices

Glossary of Terms

No

Device

Rating

No

Device

Rating

Smart home security system

10

26

Smart fridge

Computer / laptop

27

Smart shower system

Smart door locks

28

Wireless speakers

Smartphone

29

Automated blind system

Tablet

30

Air purifier

Wi-Fi enabled digital camera

31

Smart bike lock

Carbon monoxide monitor

32

Smart luggage

Internet-connected car

33

Smart pet collar

Router

34

Smart radio

10

Smart baby monitor

35

Smart television

11

Smart oven / microwave

36

Smart vacuum cleaner

12

Smart smoke alarm

37

Smart alarm clock

13

Smart toys

38

Smart coffee maker

14

Smart watch

39

Smart dishwasher

15

TV streaming / Satellite TV

40

Smart plant health checker

16

Webcam

41

Sprinkler system

17

Drone

42

Smart washing machine

18

EBook reader

43

Smart air conditioner

19

PS4 / XBOX One

44

Smart electric toothbrush

20

Smart garage door

45

Smart door bell

21

Smart home lighting

46

Smart scales

22

Smart meter

47

Smart toilet

23

Smart thermostat

48

Wireless headphones

24

Wearable fitness tracker

49

Smart cutlery

25

Key finder

50

Smart pen

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Antivirus.........................A piece of software that protects the device from unwanted

software that can damage the device.
App.................................Mobile application that can be downloaded from a trusted
market place.
Firewall...........................A piece of software that protects the device from unwanted
traffic and connections that can damage the device.
Hack................................Breaking into or modifying a device without consent.
IoT...................................Internet of Things, devices which are connected to
the internet.
Jailbreak.........................A method of unlocking a device so that it can run more
applications / features than designed by the manufacturer.
Man-in-the-middle
attack..............................An attack where a user gets between the sender and
receiver of information and can see all of the information
being sent. This is a particular problem on public
Wi-Fi networks.
Secret Key......................A key that allows a user to connect to a network,
without this access is denied.
Sensors...........................A method of detecting objects or changes within
an environment.
Smart device..................A device that can be integrated with other applications.
Untrusted Network.......A network (wired or wireless) that is not owned and
managed by you.
Virtual Private
Network (VPN)..............A VPN creates a digital tunnel in which your data is
encrypted and transmitted. It ensures your data is safe,
secure and protected from third parties.
Wi-Fi................................A wireless network that allows a device or person to connect
to other networks.
WPA2..............................WiFi Protected Access 2 a secure wireless
network technology.

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