Home Security Alert – Privacy Protection Concerns
February 09, 2012
Many families invest in wireless home security because it strengthens their personal safety and the protection of their home. But, what if a security system no longer protected their privacy? This scary thought was a recent reality for customers of Trendnet home security whose in home cameras were hacked by prying eyes. The story from Digital Trends details what happened and why the cameras were vulnerable.
If you have a Trendent security camera in your home, it might not be only you viewing the footage it provides. According to a BBC report, thousands of the firm’s cameras have a vulnerability allowing anyone on the Internet to hook up to its feed and peer into the homes of others.
How Did This Happen?
It was discovered that anyone going to the net address of a camera feed could watch the video stream without needing to enter a password. There’s even a way of using a search engine to identify cameras with the vulnerability.
On top of that, some message board sites have been posting links to more than a thousand feeds, allowing anyone who clicks on them to join the network. Apparently the security breach was made possible by a coding error that was introduced back in 2010.
While Trendnet is working resolve the issue for customers, the camera hack has raised safety concerns.
Are LifeShield’s HomeView Cameras Vulnerable?
As a home security company, we do not take our customer’s safety lightly. We want to assure our customers that this cannot be done to LifeShield’s HomeView cameras. This is because the connection between your internet, security system, and camera components are not established in the same way as Trendnet’s and traditional IP cameras.
Working to give families, homeowners and renters the best protection possible we do not expose our camera’s feed outside of a customer’s protective firewall. This means your videos and pictures are kept guarded on LifeShield’s servers behind 256 bit SSL encryption.
An easy way to think about this is: imagine if a burglar was trying to break into your home. It would be easy for him to do so if you kept one of your doors unlocked. However, if you locked the door and had a guard dog in front of it, it would be much harder for him to get inside. This is how LifeShield’s security network is setup. Because our HomeView cameras only communicate with your security system inside of your firewall, it is nearly impossible for the feed to be compromised. This adds a layer of protection that traditional IP cameras do not have.
