A Family living in Washington has spoken out about the dread they experienced while operating their baby monitor inside their son’s bedroom.
Jay and Sarah were startled when they realized that a stranger had somehow hacked into the baby monitor for their three-year-old son, and was spying on the toddler, sometimes saying some really disturbing things into the device.
According to reports released to the media, the boy had already complained to his parents that he was afraid at night because he could clearly hear a voice speaking to him over the monitor. The parents were puzzled at what their son implied was happening to him until the terrifying moment Sarah walked into his room to hear a voice say,
“wake up little boy, daddy is looking for you.”
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It was reported that the voice continued to speak on the monitor, Jay heard the voice as Sarah entered the room saying,
“look someone’s coming” or “someone’s coming into view,”
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They had enough when the night-vision lens was controlled to follow their movements all about. Shocked by this, the couple had to take immediate action and they called the manufacturer of the baby monitor, Foscam, from where it was explained to them that it was possible for someone to have hacked their monitor and control it through a number of ways.
Worried that the hacker might have unscrupulous intentions, the family has now made safety a top priority in their house and around it. They are using their shocking experience to raise awareness of the dangers and vulnerability of baby monitors. Jay wondered whether what happened to their son had been happening for long that he was not aware of or that it started when his son complained.
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He said, “We all know security vulnerabilities exist, it’s quite possible that this had been going on for long.”
It is known to many that Foscam products have vulnerabilities that could easily be exploited by a skilled hacker and gain access to them.point 214 |
Most of the cases involving unauthorized remote access to monitors have happened with their products.point 87 | As the parents had done, disconnecting the monitor wipes off the IP address the hacker had used, deleting with it any chance of catching the culprit.point 211 |
Researchers have recommended that Foscam issue updates promptly on their interface for people in order to stay a step ahead of the intruders.point 119 | 1
A lawyer specializing in internet privacy and security law, Parry Aftab said such hacking is very uncommon and noted that it is the fear of everyone that people will eventual have access to baby monitors. She said keeping a password for monitors is important, especially if they are connected to the Wi-Fi. She added that otherwise, anyone with access to Wi-Fi and computer skills will be able to access the baby monitor.
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According to reports, the internet and smartphones have made crimes like this more frequent and the capability of these devices has made it easier for complete strangers to act home devices like the monitor. A solution expert suggests the family change their monitor’s password and Wi-Fi passwords into different codes. He further advised that new updates should be installed as well. Secrecy of passwords at home must be maintained among the people using the password.
He said, “Ensure to guard the people with access to your home computers and passwords like baby sitters, housekeepers, and others with unattended cell phones.”
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The realities of our world are that the more internet-connected devices we get and bring into our homes, the more the devices that can be hacked by anyone around the world if they are not well designed.point 166 | Since thousands of internet-enabled devices are being made for household use, researchers are working overtime to point out the latest vulnerabilities in any of these products.point 317 |
As consumers, we all need to be alert to the news and research information on the specific devices we want to get and bring into our homes.point 113 | 1