Are Your Home Security Systems Spying On You?

Trusted Internet has installed in-home cyber security monitoring and protection systems for various executives, and in each case, we've stopped in-home surveillance video from being taken out of the home by bad guys. Here are a couple of examples, and what you can do about it.

We have seen proof that your home security system can spy on you.

Here’s what You can do about it.

• In our first instance, while installing a Trusted Internet Unified Threat Manager in the home, as soon as we turned on the machine, we stopped the transfer of a 300Gb video file from the in-home Network Video Recorder, to someone unknown and outside of the home, but confirmed not the home security monitoring company.

• In our second, a CEO's home, we found after installation, multiple attempts to steal information from home surveillance systems, including the Network Video Recorder.

• In our third instance, in another CEO's home, within the first week, the in-home Network Video Recorder was once again, targeted (and stopped by Trusted Internet).

How can this happen with home security devices? 

If you can watch your videos on your cell phone, there's a good chance others can too.

And yes, if they can access the system, they can spy on you.

For most of us who use them, home security and surveillance systems are an essential part of the steps we take to keep our families and property safe.  Whether we monitor them ourselves or outsource the monitoring to professionals such as Global Guardian Sentry, they help us to sleep easy and feel more secure.  As in-home surveillance systems have become commoditized, installation, networking, and administration have become boilerplate. 

These systems come “out of the box” with basic admin passwords which are rarely reset by the installation team and then never changed by the homeowner.  If you are the second owner of the house, you might not even have the system passwords.  Either way, there’s a good chance that the system is still “secured” by its out-of-the-box credentials.  Of course, the bad guys know which brand uses which admin passwords!  After trolling various unsecured home networks with targeted malware, these bad actors will then pick and choose their victims, recording security footage at will.  This is especially frightening and disconcerting if you have cameras internal to the house.

How We Prevent These Breaches

Trusted Internet’s 24x7x365 Security Operations Center has identified the profiles and signatures associated with NVR (Network Video Recorder) hijacking and has had continual success detecting and blocking this type of intrusion.  With our comprehensive service model, Trusted Internet will ensure that your physical security and home automation systems are securely configured while monitoring and defending your home or business against these and limitless other undetectable digital intrusions.

For more information, contact Trusted Internet today.

Author: Jeff Stutzman, CEO, Trusted Internet. 

Need help? More information? Contact your Virtual CISO™ or email us at staysafeonline@trustedinternet.io.