Unsecured IP Cameras – Are You At Risk of Security Hackers?

Recently, a site was discovered that links to over 70,000 Unsecured IP cameras in hundreds of countries. This has left countless people at the mercy of hackers who frankly don’t have to work very hard to gain access to their cameras.

Luckily, if you are our client, you can rest easy. Our cameras come with a high level of encryption that make them only accessible by you. Along with that, you can reset security passwords within your system. With that, you can ensure that your cameras are secure even within your own circles.

Unfortunately, with the list of unsecured IP cameras, we’ve seen more manufacturers names added to the list. With access to your camera feeds, hackers can easily have the advantage to break into your home. They can view your cameras and see when you’re away from your home. By noting the patterns in your schedule, they can break in when they are sure you aren’t home. This leaves you totally vulnerable to property damage as well as loss of valuable assets.

We’ve decided to bring you a break down of the unsecured IP cameras list and what has caused such a massive breach. If you are a LaView client, you are safe with our high-level encryption. But, if you are in the market for security solutions, own cameras from one of the manufacturers below, or purchased from a smaller brand, you will want to read on to learn more about the potential threats.

Highlight: If you’re interested in some of the most secure solutions, check out our Ultra HD 4K Cameras and Systems. Here they are in action:

Causes for Unsecured IP Cameras Being Hacked

You may be asking the question: Why would people bother with taking the time to hack unsecured IP cameras?

The answer can be very simple. In some cases, the hack is so easy that it doesn’t take all that much time. Along with that, there are a few other common motivations among security system hackers.

Some people in this category simply want the challenge of hacking into peoples cameras. Hackers who are obsessed with the tech side of things do this. There have been instances of people reporting their unsecured cameras being renamed by the hackers, just to show off that they gained access to their system. This is almost a way of showing off and trolling people.

On the more nefarious side, you have hackers that want to gain access to people’s private and sensitive information. A lot of times, they can mine much more out of a security camera hack than you’d expect. If the company charges a service fee, they may even be able to get the patron’s credit card info among other sensitive info.

Other’s have darker motives. They like to prey upon the innocent and unassuming. There is a power they experience with this kind of hack that can lead them to make easy break-ins, or try to spy on people in what should be their privacy.

Need help choosing IP cameras? Check out our guide below:

Network IP Security Cameras

List of Unsecured IP Cameras by Brand

Like we mentioned earlier, if you are trying to save money, and buy from a small, relatively unknown brand, you may be at risk.

That said, there are plenty of unsecured IP cameras that have been identified from large, unexpected sources. The site that listed the unsecured cameras actually had the manufacturers listed with clickable links to some of the hacked camera feeds. Here are the manufacturers that were listed on that site:

• Defeway
• Linksys
• Panasonic
• Axis
• Netcam
• Sony
• Foscam
• Webcam XP/7
• Mobotix
• TP Link

Though many of these are reputable, large-scale providers of security solutions, their encryption levels have fallen short, making them vulnerable to hackers. As people still buy their product, they have very low incentive to improve these standards.

As we’ve mentioned, when you choose LaView IP cameras, you have the highest level of encryption.

Want to avoid security issues? Check out more about our list of Best Security Camera Systems: 

Best Security Camera System

List of Countries with Highest Number of Unsecured IP Cameras

With the release of this information, we’re actually able to see which countries have the most unsecured camera systems. More than 20 countries were on the list with a significant number of cases. The United States took the top spot by a significant margin, with many other prominent global powers showing up on the list.

Here’s the top 5:

• USA: ~ 6,000
• Japan: ~ 2,500
• Italy: ~ 1,500
• France: ~ 1,200
• UK: ~ 900

We also got some significant data in regard to the cities with the most unsecured IP cameras. Looking at the United States, there seems to be a trend of population correlating with the number of vulnerable IP cameras. Los Angeles and New York were no surprise to find on the list. Along with those, Boston, San Francisco and Miami ranked among the highest.

Unsecured IP Cameras: Affected Areas

Unsecured cameras in public zones shouldn’t be of too much concern to you. Whether they are in/around parks, restaurants, sidewalks, parking lots, or other commercial areas, they can’t do much to harm you.

Conversely, if they are your cameras in your home, you need to be careful. According to recent reports over 15% of all unsecured security cameras are in homes.

Important Tips to Avoid Unsecured IP Cameras

So now you may be wondering what we recommend for defending against hackers.

Here is a quick reference list of the top ways you can secure your IP cameras.

1. Choose Cameras with High-Level Encryption

If you are shopping with the top, reputable brands in our industry, you should have this already. But we suggest doing some research on the level of encryption that the cameras have when shopping around.

As we have mentioned before, when choosing any of our LaView HD IP Systems, you already have an extremely high level of encryption to protect from hackers. That takes the weight off your shoulders as you won’t have to worry about being placed on the list above.

Check out our Ultra HD 4K Security Camera options. These come with high encryption and top-tier viewing:

2. Change the Default Names and Passwords Right Off the Bat

This seems like a no-brainer, but many of the instances that we listed above fell victim to this simple issue. The problem is that many of the common manufacturers of security cameras have default camera names as well as passwords that are widely known. Some of these usernames are as simple as “admin” and some of the passwords can be “admin” or “password.” Those are simply too easy for hackers to guess.

Once that information becomes available to hackers, it is extremely easy for them to prey upon people that have cameras from these brands. They know that people want the simplest process for their setup. With that, they know that people won’t generally take the time to go into their camera settings and rename their cameras. That is an extra step that most people won’t even think about. In some cases, they may even skip this step.

It is absolutely crucial to rename your cameras and to change default passwords, no matter where your security system is from.

3. Update the Firmware of Your Cameras

One of the things that causes unsecured IP cameras is people failing to keep their firmware up-to-date. We always send notifications via our free mobile app to our customers to make sure they are always aware of firmware updates. Other companies may not be so explicit in helping along in this, so watch out.

Join us in the future as we add more details to our tips and more info to this article.

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