News LAPD warns residents after spike in burglaries leveraging Wi-Fi jammers that halt security cameras, smart doorbells

[Admin]

Wi-Fi jammers are being used to aid in committing home robberies

LAPD warns residents after spike in burglaries leveraging Wi-Fi jammers that halt security cameras, smart doorbells : Read more

 

[CmdrShepard]

Other tips regarding your home's physical security...

I have a tip too -- USE THE DAMN WIRES FOR CRITICAL STUFF.

 

[-Fran-]

Imagine they also learn you can permanently damage the camera sensor with a simple laser pointer.

Regards.

 

[kjfatl]

I have a tip too -- USE THE DAMN WIRES FOR CRITICAL STUFF.

It makes sense to use both. Most systems allow this. If necessary, move to a location where criminals are prosecuted and jailed, particularly if it is not their first offense.

 

[Keith31383]

Imagine they also learn you can permanently damage the camera sensor with a simple laser pointer.

Regards.

I guess it's a good thing that most people don't have steady enough hands. Most people would need to be staring right into the camera to disable it. Kind of pointless. There is also no way of knowing if you disabled it. Might as well just hit it with spray paint or pull the cord.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

It's where the benefit of local storage comes in, like Kasa and Wyze products, even if the WiFi is knocked out it continues to record locally so as long as the camera itself isn't stolen you still have the footage, which can be said too about hardwired recorders and their DVRs.

But if you have that high end stuff, get a proper wall safe or keep it in a safe deposit box.

 

[USAFRet]

This is why my security cameras are hardwired.

The "S" in IoT stands for Security.

 

[ThomasKinsley]

Smart devices are not so smart after all. Privacy and security go together. If your security system is not private, it's not secure.

 

[-Fran-]

I guess it's a good thing that most people don't have steady enough hands. Most people would need to be staring right into the camera to disable it. Kind of pointless. There is also no way of knowing if you disabled it. Might as well just hit it with spray paint or pull the cord.

It seems it wasn't obvious, but my post was heavily tongue in cheek.

You're not wrong and there's plenty other more "practical" ways to disable such systems, but the point is that, whomever is using the tech doesn't realize how easy it is to just ignore it altogether.

If someone really wants protection, depending on a ring is not going to deter actual robbers from breaking in.

Should no one buy this things? Not at all what I'm saying. These things have their use, but it's not "security". It's just a convenient gadget to use for when things "go as expected" as they offer absolutely nothing additional towards securing a home over already stablished home-security practices. As people have already mentioned: wired cameras are a must if security is a concern.

Regards.

 

[Makaveli]

It makes sense to use both. Most systems allow this. If necessary, move to a location where criminals are prosecuted and jailed, particularly if it is not their first offense.

I wonder if these types of crimes happen in texas?

 

[USAFRet]

I wonder if these types of crimes happen in texas?

Yes, home breakins happen in Texas.

 

[COLGeek]

Yes, home breakins happen in Texas.

In every state.

 

[bit_user]

I have a tip too -- USE THE DAMN WIRES FOR CRITICAL STUFF.

It's true, but a lot of people just won't. A big selling point, for these products, is the ease-of-installation.

I think a partial solution might be for Ring to start selling Wi-Fi routers, or at least partnering with a few router manufacturers, so that your router can detect a jamming event and send a partially-anonymized, geo-located notification to the authorities. When police get multiple, proximate "pings" of a wi-fi jamming incident, they could send an officer on patrol to check it out.


BTW, does anyone know if Ring or other popular wi-fi cameras support powerline networking? This is definitely one use case where I'd consider it.

 

[bit_user]

I wonder if these types of crimes happen in texas?

I'd say it probably depends a lot more on the neighborhood than the state. For that, I'm sure you can find granular crime statistics, though I wouldn't happen to know where.

Wherever burglary rates are high, you can bet at least some of those burglars are integrating wi-fi jamming into their standard toolkit.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

It also matters too if you're a renter or owner. If you can't make holes then you're left with either a very tricky, or impossible, wiring job vs something that can just be stuck up with adhesive and wirelessly connected.

 

[CmdrShepard]

It's true, but a lot of people just won't. A big selling point, for these products, is the ease-of-installation.

Which is directly proportional with the ease of circumvention.

I am sure if you are not serious enough to use wires you could just buy a cheap $5 plastic security camera replica with a single battery and a LED and put it up and the effect would be roughly the same -- it would serve as a deterrent to the lowest of thiefs.

I think a partial solution might be for Ring to start selling Wi-Fi routers, or at least partnering with a few router manufacturers, so that your router can detect a jamming event and send a partially-anonymized, geo-located notification to the authorities. When police get multiple, proximate "pings" of a wi-fi jamming incident, they could send an officer on patrol to check it out.

So wait, you are ok with Ring shady business practices of sharing footage with law enforcement which they only supposedly stopped doing recently?

BTW, does anyone know if Ring or other popular wi-fi cameras support powerline networking? This is definitely one use case where I'd consider it.

Yeah, and you could kill the comm with a powerline short then.

 

[bit_user]

So wait, you are ok with Ring shady business practices of sharing footage with law enforcement which they only supposedly stopped doing recently?

I think there's a meaningful distinction between that and merely allowing your router to notify them of a likely jamming event.

I will not comment on the "sharing footage" issue, as that's getting off-topic. Not to say it's not worthy of discussion, but probably best not in this thread.

Yeah, and you could kill the comm with a powerline short then.

I have never used powerline networking, but I know it's been around (and fairly mainstream) for decades. I'd be interested in hearing a take on this, from someone with direct knowledge of the subject.

 

[CmdrShepard]

I have never used powerline networking, but I know it's been around (and fairly mainstream) for decades. I'd be interested in hearing a take on this, from someone with direct knowledge of the subject.

Ok, creating a short would need access to the line leading to the camera.

But, any power outlet in the house (or garage) sharing the same phase (i.e. being on a same circuit and not separated by a transformer) with powerline network adapter can surely also be jammed by a signal using the same frequency as those devices use.

 

[USAFRet]

Ok, creating a short would need access to the line leading to the camera.

But, any power outlet in the house (or garage) sharing the same phase (i.e. being on a same circuit and not separated by a transformer) with powerline network adapter can surely also be jammed by a signal using the same frequency as those devices use.

Unless there is a known high value target, screwing with the house power is too much work.

Deterrence is the key.

If you have no security, easy target.

If all you have is a Ring, almost as easy.
WiFi is easy to jam.

I just have to make my house 'less easy' than my neighbors

 

[CmdrShepard]

I just have to make my house 'less easy' than my neighbors

Exactly this.

 

[bit_user]

Unless there is a known high value target, screwing with the house power is too much work.

Who said anything about that? These cameras need power, one way or another. Couldn't you just use a power adapter that's compatible with powerline networking?

According to this, it's quite feasible to achieve gigabit speeds. For security cameras, that's a couple orders of magnitude more than you really need.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Powerline-Pass-Through-TL-PA9020P-KIT/dp/B01H74VKZU/
​

A nicely-integrated solution is described, here:

Powerline Camera: Everything You Need to Know

Looking for a cost-effective and seamless way to install security cameras without the hassle of complex wiring? Powerline cameras might be the solution you're looking for.

reolink.com

 

[USAFRet]

Who said anything about that? These cameras need power, one way or another. Couldn't you just use a power adapter that's compatible with powerline networking?

According to this, it's quite feasible to achieve gigabit speeds. For security cameras, that's a couple orders of magnitude more than you really need.

​

https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Powerline-Pass-Through-TL-PA9020P-KIT/dp/B01H74VKZU/​

​

A nicely-integrated solution is described, here:

​

Powerline Camera: Everything You Need to Know

Looking for a cost-effective and seamless way to install security cameras without the hassle of complex wiring? Powerline cameras might be the solution you're looking for.

reolink.com

​

Reolink also has some that are solar powered.
Still WiFi.

(I have 3x Reolinks, hardwired PoE)

 

[bit_user]

Reolink also has some that are solar powered.
Still WiFi.

(I have 3x Reolinks, hardwired PoE)

Yes, I saw that. Still, I thought the linked page does a pretty nice job of describing a powline-based system. I'm not actually sure which (if any) of their products implement it. I started poking around, but that's really more time & effort than I want to invest in the matter.

The fact is that you could use the adapters I linked and deploy such a solution with any cameras that merely have an Ethernet port.


Also: some cameras have the ability to do local recording to a SD Card. Forgot to mention that, but it'd at least be useful for evidentiary purposes, after the fact.

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, I saw that. Still, I thought the linked page does a pretty nice job of describing a powline-based system. I'm not actually sure which (if any) of their products implement it. I started poking around, but that's really more time & effort than I want to invest in the matter.

The fact is that you could use the adapters I linked and deploy such a solution with any cameras that merely have an Ethernet port.


Also: some cameras have the ability to do local recording to a SD Card. Forgot to mention that, but it'd at least be useful for evidentiary purposes, after the fact.

There are multiple ways to get cameras up and running without WiFi.
But that requires thinking.

It seems people just want that Easy Button.

 

[bit_user]

There are multiple ways to get cameras up and running without WiFi.
But that requires thinking.

But, not all of them require custom wiring, which is too far for some (e.g. renters, as has been mentioned).

It seems people just want that Easy Button.

Powerline networking is easy enough for most, but an added step and probably also an added cost.