![]() ![]() "Only customers can decide who is allowed to access their Vivint system, including their video feeds," a spokesperson for home security company Vivint said. "Our technicians and installers have no access to our customers' video feeds or recorded video, which can only be accessed by a small group of engineers, under monitored conditions, for issues like technical troubleshooting." "We have a team at Comcast dedicated specifically to camera security," a Comcast spokesperson said. Some professionally monitored systems, such as Comcast and now ADT, address the problem by simply strictly limiting the actions technicians can take while assisting customers with their accounts - for instance, disallowing them from adding email addresses to accounts or accessing any recorded clips. Security cameras are getting cheaper by the year, but that doesn't mean customers should be comfortable giving up their privacy. "The security industry has been paying attention to since 2010," said Kathleen Carroll, chair of the SIA's Data Privacy Advisory Board, "and we continue to work to help our member companies protect their customers." The Security Industry Association - a third-party group of security experts - advises manufacturers such as ADT on matters relating to privacy and security. Likewise, many security companies that use professional installers and technicians have strict procedures in place to avoid precisely what happened at ADT. ![]() That means as long as you stay current with app and device updates, you should have little to fear of being hacked via software or firmware vulnerabilities. Major professionally monitored security systems - and even individually sold cameras from reputable developers like Google Nest and Wyze - include high-end encryption (which scrambles messages within a system and grants access through keys) almost across the board. Mr Ow Yong said those who distribute or sell child pornography can be jailed for up to seven years, fined and/or caned.Is my home security system at risk for hacking?īefore jumping into solving the problems of device insecurity, it's helpful to understand how vulnerable your devices really are. "We also know that international and regional outfits like Interpol are quite active in finding such offenders." He added: "Where the victim is under the age of 16, the material may be considered child pornography, and such offences attract a higher range of sentences. Those who share or watch such videos can be prosecuted for offences relating to voyeurism. "The Computer Misuse Act has extra-jurisdictional reach, and applies as long as either the accused was in Singapore, or the computer, program or data was in Singapore at the time of the offence," he said. "The best way to avoid falling victim to hackers is to avoid sharing personal details online."Ĭriminal lawyer James Ow Yong said that anyone who hacks such cameras will run afoul of the law even if they are outside Singapore. "Never assume your camera is secure," he said. He advises those with such cameras at home to ensure their software is up to date and to avoid using simple passwords. "Usually, it is the result of poor password management." "Hacking of IP cameras is possible if they are accessible from a central cloud service or exposed to the Internet," he said. Mr Clement Lee, the solution architect for Asia-Pacific for Check Point Software Technologies, said many IP cameras are at risk as they are typically installed to be accessed remotely via the Internet. ![]() It also claims that VIP members will be taught how to "explore, watch live and even record" hacked cameras through tutorials and personalised sessions. The group claims to have a list of more than 50,000 hacked cameras that members can access. A 700MB "sample", containing about 4,000 videos and pictures from the hacked footage, is provided free.Ī significant portion of the clips seemed to be from IP cameras in Singapore. The victims appear to be from various countries, including Thailand, South Korea and Canada. The group, which can be found on social messaging platform Discord, has almost 1,000 members across the globe.Īs of Saturday, it has claimed to have shared more than 3TB of clips with over 70 members who paid a subscription fee of US$150 (S$203) for lifetime access. They are installed for security purposes or to remotely monitor children, the elderly, domestic workers and pets.Ī closer check of the videos revealed that a group dedicated to hacking IP cameras was behind the hacking. The footage appears to be from Internet Protocol (IP) cameras that are common in homes here. ![]() In many videos tagged as being from Singapore, the homes have layouts typical of a Housing Board flat. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |