Prevent Security Cameras From Being Vulnerable to Hacking Attacks

A site linked to 73000 unsecured IP cameras in 256 countries has hit all of you. And stories about IP camera security vulnerabilities have been coming into light. The core purpose of this post is to draw your attention to the IP camera security issues. Check it and then take proactive measures to prevent your camera from being hacked or watched by some bad guys.

The important information of this article is as follows:

Reasons Your Unsecured IP Cameras Got Hacked

Why would people take the time and effort to hack those unsecured IP cameras?

Some hack for fun. Hackers try to crack the unsecured security cameras in people's homes as a challenge -- they do it just to prove that they can. There was a user once experienced a strange hack that all of his unsecured IP cameras got renamed “UPDATE” and “FIRMWARE”. It seems as if the hackers were just announcing their success, that’s all.

And some are after the private information through unsecured IP cameras. Some others may just enjoy the tedious yet exciting moments of preying on the innocent and the unknowing. They are fond of watching unsecured cameras lives like catching criminals in the act or finding hilarious anomalies.

How Does the Security Camera Get Hacked

Hacking an unsecured IP camera is alarmingly easy. You can view unsecured cameras with simple clicks.

Luckily, the hacking mostly happens to those unsecured IP cameras with default passwords. Generally, the online site just pings every device on the net and try if one of common default passwords works.

That’s the way most websites get the hacked cameras’ live. So remember to change the default username and password, and don’t use the one that is too simple and easy to crack, like your birthday.

Bonus: Click here to find effective ways to tell whether your IP camera has been hacked.

How to Choose Secured IP Camera Manufacturers

Unsecured IP cameras are accessible to everyone, making them pretty vulnerable to prying eyes.

The unsecured IP camera manufacturers have little incentive to spend time and money making their products safer. Experts, in a CNN news report, “blamed poor practice by low-end manufacturers making devices like internet-accessible baby monitors, cameras and thermostats”.

But there are also manufacturers, like Reolink, devoted to taking advantages of the cutting-edge technology and strict manufacturing and testing process. Reolink security IP cameras feature advanced encryption, like the SSL encryption, WPA2, and AES encryption, making sure the live surveillance streams unable to be accessed by hackers.

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These Countries/Cities have the Most Unsecured Security Cameras

The Insecam contains 25 listed countries with the most unsecured IP cameras.

US leads the way, with the most open IP cameras, which are visible to all internet users all over the world. Other countries include South Korea, China, Mexico, France, Italy, UK and many more. The top 5 countries with the most unsecured cameras are:

• US: 5907
• Japan: 2429
• Italy: 1486
• France: 1213
• United Kingdom: 911

The number of unsecured IP cameras varies according to different cities. Taking US as an example, cities with a high population density tend to have more insecure open IP cameras. San Francisco, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami have more unsecured home cameras than other cities do.

Unsecured IP Cameras List: Where and How They are Used

While unsecured IP cameras in public places, such as parks, parking lots, restaurants, streets, supermarkets, are not going to really alert you, unsecured security cameras in people’s homes let you worry about privacy issues.

According to Insecam, up to 15.4% of all the unsecured web cameras are from homes, following outdoor/parks (21.55%) and parking lots (21.18%).

List of Unsecured IP Cameras Due to Lack of Password Protection

A list of unsecured cameras includes those without a strong password to protect.

Sometimes you use a security camera without password protection, or forget to change the default username and password. IP cameras “protected” with the default username and password widely known to thieves are extremely vulnerable to be hacked.

Take a look at the unsecured IP camera list with default login username and password. Due to industry relations, I will not mention the brands of these security cameras. But the list is based on the passwords leaked out of the news, so you can refer to it and change your password as soon as possible.

Top 4 Tips to Secure Your IP Cameras

So how could you avoid being a victim of the prying eyes?

Here we list top 4 effective ways so that you can stay away from the trouble of unsecured IP cameras.

1. Buy a security camera with advanced encryption.

Many high quality cameras will provide multi-level security features to keep your footage from prying eyes. For example, the Reolink wireless security cameras and PoE IP cameras are secured with SSL encryption, WPA2-AES encryption, and SSL-TLS enabled to make sure that your recordings are indeed secure.

2. Change the default username and password as soon as you setup your camera.

Input a username and password that is 6 characters or longer. It’s highly advised to use a combination of lower-case and upper-case letters as well as numbers and special characters.

3. Make sure your camera has the latest security firmware installed.

The latest security camera firmware will always provide protection to any new method of hacking into your cameras. And there is usually a page that you can find all the latest firmware for upgrade.

4. Change the security camera default port.

Hackers often target default ports, which is usually within the 8100 range. You can manually change the security camera default port to a non-standard port. This will make it more difficult for hackers to find your camera.

If you have more ideas to address the IP camera hack issues or more insights into the unsecured IP cameras, you’re very welcome to share with us by leaving a comment down below!