News Massive privacy concern: over 40,000 security cameras are streaming unsecured footage worldwide

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It makes you wonder if the hardware suppliers/users are that security oblivious or if the intent is to make consumers vulnerable? This ain't rocket science for sure.
 
This isn't exactly unknown. Can't think of the site, perhaps even linked in the article but it basically shows all the cameras it can find still using the out of box security settings. At one point there was literally no telling what you would see. They did apparently put some filters in place a few years ago.
 
40,000 is chicken scratch. That's not even barely a rounding error. Many of these cameras are out in public, pointed at open yard areas, streets, etc.

The millions and billions who get spied on by Google through their personal Android device. That's a concern.
The millions and billions who get spied on by Microsoft through their personal computer. That's also a concern.

The number of 40,000, that is just a rounding error.
 
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I bet there are far more than that considering all the low price cameras from questionable companies like "DEKCO", "REOLINK", and "HISEEU", to name three on Amazon, just like for decades audio baby monitors transmit over unsecured radio frequencies and can be eavesdropped on.

But yeah, I also bet that most of these 40,000 security cameras are local or government cameras set in places like highways, parks, and rivers that are intended for anyone to easily access over the internet and pose little risk unless the organization has zero brain cells and doesn't do things like change access passwords.
 
punkncat said:
This isn't exactly unknown. Can't think of the site, perhaps even linked in the article but it basically shows all the cameras it can find still using the out of box security settings. At one point there was literally no telling what you would see. They did apparently put some filters in place a few years ago.
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shodan
 
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ezst036 said:
40,000 is chicken scratch. That's not even barely a rounding error. Many of these cameras are out in public, pointed at open yard areas, streets, etc.

The millions and billions who get spied on by Google through their personal Android device. That's a concern.
The millions and billions who get spied on by Microsoft through their personal computer. That's also a concern.

The number of 40,000, that is just a rounding error.
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When you make a statement like that about Google or Microsoft, proof is expected.
 
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IOT risks are indeed not to be underestimated.
40k cameras is indeed a tiny amount of the globally installed surveillance. To assume these are in public spaces and professionally administered seems far-fetched to me.
The referenced Bitsight article is so vague, that i cannot take it seriously. No proof, no offenders named. Or is it again mostly users who misconfigure the webcam watching the home pool?

Sure you can add a bunch of spying IOT devices to your home network. You can also cut off a few fingers with the table saw. There is only a certain extent to which we can be protected from our own stupid mistakes.

People everywhere make bad decisions with hardware that looks easy to use but is, actually, NOT.

Idiots who do not secure their corporate AWS buckets have i believe proven by far the bigger problem than a hand full of cameras.
 
passivecool said:
Idiots who do not secure their corporate AWS buckets have i believe proven by far the bigger problem than a hand full of cameras.
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Have you ever used AWS? There's nothing simple or straightforward about it. It's got better over the years, but it's still overly complex and certainly not user friendly.
 
Security cameras should always be on a separate VLAN that's isolated from the internet. Use VPN software like Tailscale to view them remotely.

Alvar Miles Udell said:
I bet there are far more than that considering all the low price cameras from questionable companies like "DEKCO", "REOLINK", and "HISEEU"
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Not sure about the other two, but Reolink is a legit company that manufactures their own products (they're not just rebranding some cheap junk). They're not perfect by any means, for example they don't have great night vision and their software is a bit buggy, but they shouldn't be lumped in with the generic Amazon brands.
 
heffeque said:
Quick search:
Facebook: https://techreport.com/news/meta-yandex-android-spying-localhost-privacy-crisis/
Google: https://dailysecurityreview.com/cyber-security/google-settles-5-billion-lawsuit/
Microsoft: https://www.pcworld.com/article/237...s-your-data-and-what-you-can-do-about-it.html

Do you want me to search for more examples?
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As the poster it is normally expected for you to provide proof to backup a statement, that's all I was asking for and you don't need to be aggressive in the way you provided the examples. "Do you want me to search for more examples?" could have been better worded as "Here are some examples but am more than happy to help find more for you to review"
 
das_stig said:
As the poster it is normally expected for you to provide proof to backup a statement, that's all I was asking for and you don't need to be aggressive in the way you provided the examples. "Do you want me to search for more examples?" could have been better worded as "Here are some examples but am more than happy to help find more for you to review"
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My comment is no more "aggressive" than your own comment. Please reword your own comment first.
 
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