Woman discovers someone watching her through her internet-connected camera

[Cal Jeffrey]

It should come as no surprise that connected devices are vulnerable to hackers wishing to spy on you. TechSpot has pointed this out several times going all the way back to at least 2013. Webcams, nanny cams, smartphones, and even smart TVs can all be used to invade your home secretly. But what if you are being watched not so secretly? That adds a whole new level of creepiness to the scenario, and it is exactly what happened to one woman in the Netherlands.

According to TNW, Rilana Hamer purchased a cheap internet-connected surveillance camera from a convenience store so that she could look after her puppy with her smartphone while she was away. The device was easy to set up and did require a password to log in to it.

Once connected over WiFi, she could control the camera to a wide enough degree that she could see her whole living room. The camera was also fitted with a microphone and speaker for audio communication. She said it was “perfect” for her needs.

After using the device for about a month, it began to act strangely. Hamer thought she heard noises coming from her living room so went to check it out. When she entered, she saw the camera move. At first, she assumed the camera was glitching or updating, so she ignored it.

Later, she heard the noise again. This time when she went to investigate, the camera turned directly toward her and whispered, “Bonjour madame.”

She responded to the camera asking if someone was there as she moved around the room. The camera followed her every step. Then the voice inside the device said, “Bonjour madame, tout bien avec vous?” (Hello madam, is all good with you?)

At that point, Hamer ripped the camera off the wall and stuffed it back in its original packaging.

“I was full of fear and thought I was crazy,” she said on Facebook. “I’m being watched, but for how long? What has that person seen from me? My house, my personal possessions.”

Before returning the camera, she hooked it up one last time to both document the intrusion and to tell the creepy voice off with a few choice words (you can witness the exchange above).

Hammer has since returned the camera to Action (the store she bought it from), and they have sent it back to the supplier. A spokesperson for Action said that technicians would try to diagnose whether the breach occurred on the device or Hamer’s network.

Neither Hamer nor Action mentioned the name of the manufacturer of the device. So far there have been no other reported incidents of this nature since the camera's launch back in May.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/71298-woman-discovers-someone-watching-through-internet-connected-camera.html

 

[EClyde]

Ho Ho Ho

 

[Uncle Al]

Peeping Toms have gone high tech!

 

[p51d007]

LOL, cheap chinese stuff, probably used "password" for the password, or something like 123456. Either way, if her network wasn't firewalled or other protections, lesson learned. Most people just run their (cable, ISDN, fiber) from the wall straight into the "box". Nope, run a router/switch between it and your system, firewalled at a minimum on both sides.

 

[Kenrick]

Buying not-so-established brand name IP cam without a little bit knowledge in securing it for intrusion ===> peep hole.

Next time noobs just buy the nest cam and pay the subscription. Avoid chinese cams if ever you are not knowledgeable in networking. Real machos of course would want the hikvisions and dahuas.

edit: I have a feeling that the so called technician at that store configured or knows entirely the product. Im not saying he did it but authorities should check him out. Most privacy intrusions are done by some technicians.

 

[VitalyT]

Don't they have a little green light on every camera to let you know exactly when it is on? To my knowledge, that part isn't programmable, so it cannot be hacked.

Having watched that video though, looks like her camera doesn't even have the green light. WTF? Is that like $3 Chinese after-market camera? Super-tech for super-smart savers. LOL.

 

[mizkitty]

Is this the level of "tech" news were getting on TechSpot now?

 

[mrtraver]

I had no idea that these had built-in speakers.

 

[davislane1]

Don't they have a little green light on every camera to let you know exactly when it is on? To my knowledge, that part isn't programmable, so it cannot be hacked.

Having watched that video though, looks like her camera doesn't even have the green light. WTF? Is that like $3 Chinese after-market camera? Super-tech for super-smart savers. LOL.

IIRC the indicator can be disabled if the attacker knows what he's doing. Doubt this cam had one, though.

 

[senketsu]

Well, at least they used the polite, formal French...vous instead of tu...LOL

 

[poohbear]

Don't they have a little green light on every camera to let you know exactly when it is on? To my knowledge, that part isn't programmable, so it cannot be hacked.

Having watched that video though, looks like her camera doesn't even have the green light. WTF? Is that like $3 Chinese after-market camera? Super-tech for super-smart savers. LOL.

That csn be turned off in the options menu. Very simple

 

[poohbear]

Is this the level of "tech" news were getting on TechSpot now?

Was certainly entertaining to me!

 

[Camikazi]

Don't they have a little green light on every camera to let you know exactly when it is on? To my knowledge, that part isn't programmable, so it cannot be hacked.

Having watched that video though, looks like her camera doesn't even have the green light. WTF? Is that like $3 Chinese after-market camera? Super-tech for super-smart savers. LOL.

This isn't a webcam it's a security camera that is PTZ so it doesn't have the green LED.

From the looks of it, it is a Maxxter 3D or a similar ripoff version. It looks just like the 3D but has no branding so might just be a chinese ripoff.

 

[captaincranky]

If you ask me, I'd say she should have bought a cat, and said the hell with a camera.

I'm curious as to why all the pretense of a "how do you do". The hacker should have come right out and asked her if she would bring the camera into the bedroom or bathroom when she used them.

Or possibly just kept his mouth shut, and waited for her to buy more cameras.

 

[amstech]

I had no idea that these had built-in speakers.

Yup.
I can talk into mine, move it all around, take pictures, set record times, switch from night vision to day, zoom in, ext.

 

[amghwk]

Amusing to read people talking about Chinese cams. Almost all of the branded ones are also made in China.

 

[Camikazi]

Amusing to read people talking about Chinese cams. Almost all of the branded ones are also made in China.

There is quite a bit of difference between branded cameras and generic china cams, the difference from parts used to build quality to software used. The branded ones usually have good QA so you know what you can expect while buying generic ones is like walking through a mine field. You could buy two that are identical on the outside but one might have very good internals while the other has low end parts that will fail quickly or that sends information back to a home server without you knowing. That is why China cams are talked about how they are, they are not all the same.

 

[matrix86]

Don't they have a little green light on every camera to let you know exactly when it is on? To my knowledge, that part isn't programmable, so it cannot be hacked.

Having watched that video though, looks like her camera doesn't even have the green light. WTF? Is that like $3 Chinese after-market camera? Super-tech for super-smart savers. LOL.

This isn't a webcam it's a security camera that is PTZ so it doesn't have the green LED.

My security camera has an LED that turns on whenever I or my wide connect to it for live video streaming. I have the option in the app or through my account online to turn that feature off but I prefer keeping it on.

 

[slamscaper]

Don't they have a little green light on every camera to let you know exactly when it is on? To my knowledge, that part isn't programmable, so it cannot be hacked.

Having watched that video though, looks like her camera doesn't even have the green light. WTF? Is that like $3 Chinese after-market camera? Super-tech for super-smart savers. LOL.

Didn't even you see the movie Snowden? Or at least read about the things he revealed? The Brits have code out there so slick it will not turn on a webcam's LED while checking you out live. There's no reason not to think a hacker hasn't figured it out. Clearly their network was not well secured, as this was someone over the internet it seems and not nearby.

 

[slamscaper]

I recommend EZVIZ cameras for indoor surveillance. They are very reasonably priced and are encrypted feeds, so even if someone gets into your network they still can't view the feed without a passphrase. I think they are about as secure as you're gonna get for a cheaper consumer surveillance cam.

 

[Capaill]

I heard of this a few months ago, unfortunately after I purchased 2 affected camera models. From what I remember, there are over a thousand camera models affected. The problem is in the firmware made by a Chinese company (Foscam) which is used by many different manufacturers and it is not possible to update the firmware. There are at least 7 known vulnerabilities including hard-coded Admin passwords (even if you change the default password, there is still another user), ports opened by default and telnet is enabled. Given how widespread it is, you either fork out the cash for a reputable brand or put the camera somewhere that you don't mind strangers getting a view of.

 

[Capaill]

I recommend EZVIZ cameras for indoor surveillance. They are very reasonably priced and are encrypted feeds, so even if someone gets into your network they still can't view the feed without a passphrase. I think they are about as secure as you're gonna get for a cheaper consumer surveillance cam.

I see EZVIZ cameras are made by Hikvision which had a big scandal recently about hacked firmware but at least they released a patch for most of their camera models. I also note that Hikvision is partly owned by the Chinese government. I'll keep a Chinese phrasebook handy for when the camera starts moving on its own.

 

[senketsu]

When yer not usin' it, just throw an opaque piece of cloth or some such thing over it. Easy and at least kills the video
should the worst occur