Surely you have ever wondered if they can hack your devices. For example, listening to what you speak from your mobile, recording yourself with your computer camera or even using Wi-Fi surveillance cameras and broadcasting on the Internet. The truth is that all this is possible and in this article we are going to focus on the last case, that of Wi-Fi cameras. We are going to talk about why they could be broadcasting everything they record on the Internet and, most importantly, what you can do to avoid it.
Wi-Fi IP cameras can broadcast everything they record
But, what can happen so that the Wi-Fi cameras you have at home, for example watching a patio or an entrance, are broadcasting everything on the Internet? There are several reasons. One of them is that this particular model has some vulnerability and some attacker is exploiting it. You have not updated the camera and therefore it is not secure. But a much more common cause is when you are using an old model .
By old cameras we mean especially those that are 10 or more years old. In many cases even cameras from before the 2010s. These are devices that are no longer supported. That means that any vulnerability will not receive updates and will remain a security issue.
But there is a problem beyond whether or not they are vulnerable, and that is that in many cases they were configured in the wrong way . For example surveillance cameras in businesses. Maybe someone put them in 15 or 20 years ago without really paying much attention to safety and good setup. It has been there all this time, someone just verifies that it works but nothing else.
To give you an idea, what we are discussing is similar to if you use an old computer with Windows XP and connect it to the Internet. It can have many vulnerabilities , especially if you have kept the same configuration for almost 20 years.
In many cases these cameras are public and are not really going to pose a problem. That is to say, they are Wi-Fi cameras that were installed at some point to see the weather in a specific place, to show the square of a municipality, the door of a Town Hall… But in other cases they can be cameras that really affect the privacy of other people, such as surveillance cameras of a house, an office, etc.
What to do to avoid problems with Wi-Fi cameras
So what can you do to avoid problems with Wi-Fi surveillance cameras? The first thing is to really check if your camera can be a danger. Is it an old camera? Do you receive security updates? This must be taken into account. If you notice that your surveillance camera can be a problem, it is best to change it directly for a more recent one .
But if you have a newer camera, you need to make sure that it is properly updated . It is important that you review this to fix any vulnerabilities that may exist. It is the manufacturers themselves who release patches and updates to improve operation, but also security.
Now, another key factor if you are going to have Wi-Fi cameras at home is to configure them correctly , protect them and also protect the wireless network. That means you should use a good password (never leave the default one) and protect Wi-Fi as well as possible. Always use strong passwords, proper encryption, and keep your firmware up to date.
In short, as you can see, Wi-Fi cameras can become a major problem for your security. They could be broadcasting on the internet without you knowing it. Keeping them always updated is key, but also avoid those that are very old and may be vulnerable. You can always keep in mind a list with good Cloud IP cameras.
