Security loophole: 15,000 private webcams can be accessed without authorization

Webcams are commonly used for security purposes these days. Almost every mall, shop, home, and office has one. Webcams are used to record and surveil the premises so that the footage can be used in case of any emergency.

Recently certain white-hat hackers have found that there are a total of 15,000 webcams around the globe which are unprotected. These webcams are prone to unauthorized access which requires just a stable internet connection. Settings of some of these webcams can be edited without any authentication. The list of manufacturers of these webcams include:

  1. AXIS net cameras
  2. IP WebCam
  3. Mobotix
  4. Yawcam
  5. Cisco Linksys webcam
  6. IQ Invision web camera
  7. WebCamXP 5
  8. IP Camera logo server

As discussed earlier, webcams are present almost everywhere and they are used to record sensitive data. If this data falls into the hands of hackers, it can be used by them for initiating various malicious attacks. Some of the risks that these compromised webcams can pose include easy IP theft, blackmailing, unauthorized surveillance, etc.

If webcams don't have a proper authentication method then, anyone who is aware of the IP address of the device can access it. Webcams are generally included in the same server which includes all the other systems and internet-connected devices. Hacking such a webcam can allow the attacker to gain access over your entire server and devices linked to it.

NPAV suggests using local VPN which can only be accessed by local IP addresses. Deploying a proper firewall is highly recommended in order to protect your network from such attacks and vulnerabilities.

Use NPAV to protect your network from malicious attacks and activities.