Live video feeds from surveillance cameras are being sold to Cyber Criminals.

Surveillance cameras are evolving to be devices that work through the Internet of Things (IoT).
The Internet of Things is a vast network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other smart devices that are connected to the internet to allow them to exchange data with other devices or systems over the internet.

This means that footage from the cameras can be streamed via the internet to the camera owner.

Cameras are a target for Cyber Criminals as they can use them to gather information about whatever is in the field of view of the camera. They may also use it as an entry point to a network if the camera is connected to a larger network.

Around 11 months ago a vulnerability for around 80,000 of these cameras was exposed which allowed a relatively simple command to be ran remotely which allowed the attacker to have full control of the device.
A large number of these cameras are yet to be patched, leaving them susceptible to attack, with the steps to commit the attack mentioned above readily available on the internet.
In some cases, this may be because individuals and organisations have yet to install critical security updates. This is common with IOT devices, as they often will not install updates automatically or notify administrators that updates are available. This in turn requires administrators to manually check for and install any pending updates.

Many issues with IoT devices are caused by manufacturers not providing timely updates to patch the vulnerabilities. This is common in the IOT industry due to the lack of regulation.

There are also ethical considerations, with many of these devices being designed and manufactured by foreign countries, such as the USA, China and Taiwan, it raises the question are these devices intended to be vulnerable?

To stay Cyber Wise, we recommend that any device you use is routinely updated as part of a maintenance procedure, and also only bought from trusted and reputable manufacturers.

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