SafeUM
Home Blog Services Download Help About Recharge

Axarhöfði 14, 110 Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland - 2015
SafeUM
Blog
Services
Download
Help
About
Recharge
Menu
Archive
TOP Security!
3 Sep 2015

Several baby monitors vulnerable to hacking

Disturbing reports in recent years of hackers hijacking baby monitors and screaming at children have creeped out parents, but these incidents apparently haven't spooked makers of these devices.

A security analysis of nine baby monitors from different manufacturers revealed serious vulnerabilities and design flaws that could allow hackers to hijack their video feeds or take full control of the devices.

The tests were performed by researchers from security firm Rapid7 during the first half of this year and the results were released Tuesday in a white paper. On a scale from A to F that rated their security functionality and implementation, eight of the devices received an F and one a D. The Rapid7 researchers found hidden and hard-coded credentials providing local and remote access over services like SSH or Telnet; unencrypted video streams sent to the user's mobile phone; unencrypted Web and mobile application functions and unprotected API keys and credentials; and other vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to abuse the devices.

In case you think the price of such devices makes a difference when it comes to security, you're wrong. The tested devices cost between $55 to $255. They were: Gyonii GCW-1010, iBaby M3S, iBaby M6, Lens LL-BC01W, Philips B120/37, Summer Infant Baby Zoom 28630, TRENDnet TV-IP743SIC, WiFiBaby WFB2015 and Withing WBP01. Three of the devices had particularly critical vulnerabilities, the Rapid7 researchers said.

The Philips In.Sight B120 is designed to connect to a back-end Web server on the Internet that serves as a proxy for viewing the camera's live feed. There is no authentication or encryption and each camera receives a hostname and port number from a deterministic range. This means that attackers could use brute-force techniques to discover and access all cameras. They would not only gain access to their live streams, but would also be able to change their settings or enable remote Telnet access, the researchers said.

The iBaby M6 connects to a cloud service where it stores video recordings. Accessing this server only requires knowing the camera's serial number which is used as part of the URL. "Through a simple script, an attacker could potentially gain access to every recorded clip for every registered camera across the entire service," the Rapid7 researchers said.

The Summer Infant Baby Zoom device also connects to a remote Web service that allows adding guests to view the camera feed without any password or authorization key. "By iterating through a user identifier on a URL, an attacker can add an e-mail address of their choice to every single camera and login at will to view the stream of any camera of their choosing," the researchers wrote.

Rapid7 reported the issues it found to the affected manufacturers and to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) back in July. Some vendors responded and fixed part of the issues, or disabled vulnerable functions, but many vulnerabilities remain unpatched.

Philips was the most responsive and easy to work with of all affected manufacturers, the Rapid7 researchers said. "The company’s vendor disclosure process is well established and clearly focused on ensuring its devices are safe for consumers. We applaud Philips’ commitment to fixing this vulnerability and their established protocol for handling incoming product vulnerabilities."

The Rapid7 researchers included possible mitigations in their research paper and advised users of the affected devices to contact the vendors and inquire about firmware updates that would resolve the issues.

Tags:
information leaks surveillance
Source:
PCWorld
2306
Other NEWS
3 Jul 2020 safeum news imgage An encrypted messaging service has been infiltrated by police
4 May 2020 safeum news imgage Two-Factor Authentication ​What Is It and Why You Should Use It
12 Dec 2019 safeum news imgage Encryption is under threat - this is how it affects you
4 Nov 2019 safeum news imgage Should Big Decisions Be Based on Data or Your Intuition?
7 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage VPNFilter malware infecting 500,000 devices is worse than we thought
4 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage Hackers target Booking.com in criminal bid to steal hundreds of thousands from customers
1 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage Operator of World's Top Internet Hub Sues German Spy Agency
30 May 2018 safeum news imgage US says North Korea behind malware attacks
29 May 2018 safeum news imgage Facebook and Google targeted as first GDPR complaints filed
25 May 2018 safeum news imgage A new reason to not buy these cheap Android devices
24 May 2018 safeum news imgage Flaws in smart pet devices, apps could come back to bite owners
23 May 2018 safeum news imgage Google sued for 'clandestine tracking' of 4.4m UK iPhone users' browsing data
21 May 2018 safeum news imgage LocationSmart reportedly leaked phone location data onto the web
18 May 2018 safeum news imgage The SEC created its own scammy ICO to teach investors a lesson
17 May 2018 safeum news imgage Thieves suck millions out of Mexican banks in transfer heist
All news
SafeUM
Confidential Terms of Use Our technologies Company
Follow us
Download
SafeUM © Safe Universal Messenger

Axarhöfði 14,
110 Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland - 2015