If you thought baby monitoring cameras were keeping your child and family safe, you better think again. Several web-connected cameras lack basic security and even the most elementary hacking attempts could give hackers access to the “smart devices”, according to research carried out by U.S. company, Rapid7.
Babies watched, home networks hacked
“Overall, we did find some devices that had some very easy-to-exploit issues,” Mark Stanislav, the study’s author, told ABC News.
Besides granting access to strangers, the cameras could also be used as a catalyst to attack other devices and traditional computers by taking advantage of the “unsegmented, fully trusted nature of a typical home network”.
The paper highlights potential security flaws with web-enabled products, as a “galaxy of wildly different devices”, flood our markets.
How safe is the Internet of Things?
The research focuses in particular on the security of retail video baby monitors as they fulfill an intensely personal use for the Internet of Things” (IoT).
Baby monitoring cameras are usually placed near infants and toddlers. They work by filming a child at home and sending a video stream to a personal website or an app on a smartphone or tablet. They are largely marketed as safety devices, but “…there’s a certain leap of faith you’re taking with your child when you use one of these,” says Mark Stanislav, a senior security consultant at Rapid7.
Security problems in all cameras tested
The Rapid7 researchers stated they had found security problems and design flaws in all of the cameras they tested. According to Stanislav, some had hidden and unchangeable passwords, often listed in manuals or online that hackers could easily retrieve to gain access.
Furthermore, some of the baby monitors didn’t encrypt their data streams and web or mobile features. Stanislav also added that higher prices does not necessarily translate to safer babies. Additional features could actually give hackers more opportunities to access the devices.
The Rapid7 research looked at nine baby monitors made by eight different companies. The price range of the devices was from $55 to $260.
The researchers tested the Phillips In.Sight B120 (model discontinued), the iBaby and iBaby M3S, the Summer Infant Summer Baby Zoom WiFi Monitor & Internet Viewing System, the Lens Peek-a-View, the Gynoii, the TRENDnet WiFi Baby Cam TV-IP743SIC, the WiFiBaby WFB2015 and the Withings WBP01.
Most companies said they were reviewing the report’s findings and were working to fix the issues with their baby monitoring cameras to protect their customers’ security.
What do you think of the security of baby monitoring cameras? Share your views in the comments section below.
Forget baby monitoring cameras. Maybe you need the Blink:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tcLbrtNBcE
Hackers Watch You With Baby Monitoring Cameras
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