Odd sounds began playing over the nanny cam at night, music that would fade out when a family member would enter the room where the baby slept. After finding an unknown IP address associated with the nanny cam, one Minnesota family found out that the camera had been hacked.
On another occasion, the family re-positioned the nanny cam so that it faced a wall. Just a few hours later, the camera had been panned so that it faced the closet.
The mother was able to trace the intruding IP address back to Amsterdam, according to a report from NBC-affiliate KTTC. She also found a weblink associated with the IP address, leading her to land on a website that had thousands of live feeds of people's homes via web-connected surveillance systems.
The site didn't just include images of the inside of homes of Rochester residents, the mom said. Visitors to the site can sort through camera feeds of "whatever country suits your fancy," she stated.
"There's at least 15 different countries listed and it's not just nurseries - it's people's living rooms, their bedrooms, their kitchens," the mom said. "Every place that people think is sacred and private in their home is being accessed."
The mom opted to keep her identity anonymous, so the KTTC report didn't disclose the website she accused of hosting links to the intrusive content, but the matter sounds similar to a story that broke last November. A Russian website posted direct links to the private camera feeds of people around the world.
The people behind the site stated that they posted the content online to raise awareness about the value of security and strong passwords. The individuals whose camera feeds appeared online failed to change their usernames and passwords from the generic credentials established by the manufacturers of the surveillance equipment, the group asserted.
While Christopher Graham, the UK's information commissioner, didn't condone the conduct of the group behind the Russian website, he stated that it was important for consumers to understand the importance of taking care of their personal security.
"The more important thing is to get the message out to consumers to take those security measures," Graham said. "If you don't need remote access to a webcam, then switch off that function altogether."
The message of the Minnesota mom is the same. Make difficult passwords. For now, her family has taken down all of its surveillance equipment.
Photo: Jessica Merz | Flickr
