This can only happen in Europe you may say,but I bet you this act will spread to the rest of the world soon if the end users and technicians are not careful.
Insecurity which is a major issues in most part of the world today have increase the sales and the demand for CCTV and other security gadgets.Though, it sounds rediculous for russian hackers to be involved in this act, still you can play your part by changing the default password of the security gadgets you just procured or already installed. To convince you dear readers on what I mean
Russian hackers are streaming live footage from baby monitors and cctv cameras all over the world, including some right here in Northampton.
A Russian-based website has gained access to four cameras in locations across Northampton and is uploading what they show to the internet.
The streams feature someone's kitchen, the hallway of a house and even dog's cage.
The website, seen by the Northants Herald and Post, is streaming footage from hundreds of cameras across Britain – including video of a sleeping infant taken from a baby monitor in Birmingham, a gym in Manchester and an office in Leicester.
Thousands of live feeds from around the world are also available.
The Information Commissioner’s Office, UK’s privacy watchdog, has urged owners of the webcams to change their passwords as hackers are able to gain access to them using the default login details.
Simon Rice, ICO group manager for technology, said: “The website, which is based in Russia, accesses the information by using the default login credentials, which are freely available online, for thousands of cameras.
“The footage is being collected from security cameras used by businesses and members of the public, ranging from CCTV networks used to keep large premises secure, down to built-in cameras on baby monitors.
“This is a threat that all of us need to be aware of and be taking action to protect against. Many people use webcams to monitor their homes remotely while they are away, viewing the footage over the internet."
With an estimated 350,000 such cameras sold in the country last year, the ICO warned that those without password protection or with weak passwords could be vulnerable to hackers.
Mr Rice said: “The ability to access footage remotely is both an internet cameras biggest selling point and, if not set up correctly, potentially its biggest security weakness.
“Remember, if you can access your video footage over the internet, then what is stopping someone else from doing the same?“You may think that having to type in an obscure web address to access the footage provides some level of protection.
“However, this will not protect you from the remote software that hackers often use to scan the internet for vulnerable devices. In some cases, insecure cameras can be identified using nothing more than an internet search engine.
“As a last resort, you can always cover the lens if you don’t want to use the camera all of the time.”
So far, there are 600 cameras in Britain being streamed on the Russian-based website, and more than 10,000 others from around the world.
Source: http://www.northampton-news-hp.co.uk/Russian-hackers-spy-inside-Northampton-homes/story-24579943-detail/story.html#ixzz3JfypoAhE
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