While you may never be victim to camera hacking, the risk is still there. “My big thing is I just want people to be aware of the risk and then make an informed choice,” Hamerstone said.
While having cameras in your house does mean someone could access your videos, there are a few things you can do to bolster your security.
Disable default passwords.
“Number one, the biggest thing is disable any default passwords,” said Chronister. This is true for cameras and with anything else you buy, Hamerstone added.
“Hackers are lazy. If there are 10,000 cameras out there and 9,000 have the default password, they’re not going to try to crack the other 1,000,” noted Chronister.
Don’t reuse passwords.
Don’t use your go-to password for your camera system. Really, you should never reuse old passwords, said Hamerstone, but especially for crucial things like cameras and banking.
Turn on multi-factor authentication.
“For most of us, if we have cameras we can go on our phone and log into that account and see [the footage or live feed],” Hamerstone said.
You should turn on multi-factor authentication, like receiving a text code, when logging into the camera app. This makes the app more secure.
Keep your camera operating systems updated.
Chronister said it’s also important to keep your camera systems up-to-date.
“They are mini-computers. There should be an ability to update them to new firmware when needed,” Chronister said.
Software can have vulnerabilities that require system updates to address the vulnerability and keep your account secure.
Get rid of old, unused cameras in your home.
If you have a camera in your home that has been installed yet unused for years and years, take it down, said Chronister.
These cameras are old and outdated, which can open them up to security threats, he noted. Old cameras and old software don’t have the same safety protections as newer alternatives.
