Information specialists are urging webcam owners to change their default password after a Russian website has posted thousands of live-streaming video footage from webcameras all around the world.
CNN showed live-stream video from the questionable website that displayed very intimate settings. One camera is focused on a child’s play-set, another is fixed on a baby’s crib, a living room is shown, and even a gym. The Russian site features openly-accessible footage from approximately 4,600 cameras in the U.S., about 200 in France, and several more in over 100 other countries.
The website denies claims that it is hacking cameras unbeknownst to owners. “These cameras are not hacked. Owners of these cameras use default password by unknown reason,” the webpage says.
The site says its purpose is to allow those away from their cameras access to surveillance via the Internet. The site owners also claim they want to bring attention to the issue of gaining easy access to webcams.
To invade a webcam, hackers use default passwords created by the manufactures, according to the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office. British experts are encouraging camera users to change the default password, and if the device doesn’t have one, to create a new password. The specialists suggest a list of helpful tips, such as how to create a strong password and how to adjust security settings to make webcam usage safer.
So just maybe your paranoid friend who keeps tape over his webcam lens – and the cousin who makes sure her camera is turned towards a wall when she’s not using it – aren’t so crazy after all.