Photo: Michael Hession
How to Keep Unwanted Eyes From Spying on Your Security Cameras
Rachel Cericola
Maybe you installed a doorbell camera because it was cheap and you wanted to keep tabs on package deliveries (and anyone creeping around your home). Most people would assume the camera is a private, secure way to check in on family, pets, and property, but it turns out you may not be the only one who is watching. "In today's camera-filled society, we have to be aware that our privacy is not guaranteed, even when we own the camera," says Chris Hoose, president of IT consulting firm Choose Networks. If you have a home security camera or are interested in getting one, here's a look at the different ways people could be snooping on your camera, and what you can do to prevent that.
Evict camera squatters
Most smart cameras allow you to share live video and recordings, and some models, like those from Google Nest and Arlo, among others, even let you grant multiple users access to the app. But a 2018 story in The New York Times (Wirecutter's parent company) detailed how shared access to smart cameras could potentially lead to stalking and domestic abuse, for example if an estranged roommate, partner, or spouse moved out but retained access to cameras (or other devices).
To preserve your privacy, start by kicking anyone who has become persona non grata off of your app. Change the password on your account to something new and difficult—and whatever you do, don't reuse passwords from other devices or online services, which is a common way that people's accounts get infiltrated (more on that below; note that Wirecutter strongly recommends using a password manager.) Consider changing the account email address and any security questions linked to the account.
Go into the camera's settings in the companion app and remove any unwanted users who previously had sharing privileges. If a user is labeled as an admin, it may be more difficult to remove them since they are also allowed to grant and revoke access to devices, and may be able to track usage. If you have access to their username and password, remove them as the admin immediately. Otherwise, you may have to delete your entire account and manually reset the device to the manufacturer's settings. Contact the camera manufacturer if you need help.
Thwack hackers
There have been harrowing stories about families hearing voices and threats being piped through home security cameras. In most cases the infiltrators didn't do high-level hacking to get into the cameras but instead accessed them by using default passwords, login credentials that were easily guessable or that were reused by the camera owners from other accounts that had been compromised in other ways. This means that if your camera shares a password with any other service that's been compromised (like a hacked banking service), it's quite possible someone is watching right now.
Fortunately, there are simple ways to minimize your risk. For starters, always use unique passwords: If you repeat the password combo for your camera that you also used for an Equifax account (or Yahoo, or Hotmail, or Facebook, or…), you're a candidate for having your camera exploited. A good solution is using a password manager, software that makes it easy to create, store, and access complex passwords across all your devices, so you never have to worry about forgetting them.
If your camera happens to allow two-factor authentication, as cameras from Nest and Wyze do, enable that in the settings section of the app. This system relies on a secondary form of confirmation—hardware and software tokens, text messages, or fingerprint verification—before allowing someone access.
And in general, consider buying only those brands that you trust (and not just the ones on sale). "Really, everything today is hackable," says Theresa Payton, former White House CIO and founder/CEO of Fortalice Solutions. "Most all the things that you buy off the shelf have been designed for end user simplicity. Having things work out of the box, plug it in, and bam, you're in business, it's working. And because of that, you absolutely have to worry about unethical hackers getting access to your information." Established manufacturers have a reputation to uphold and so are typically better equipped to handle customer service and fix security issues, including hacks and data breaches.
Don't be an oversharer
When you share videos from your smart camera to social media and community watch apps, it's not just your favorite friends, family, and random Internet strangers viewing them. Law enforcement may be watching as well, and they may be interested in getting access to your camera's footage.
Among the more well-known neighborhood watch apps is Ring Neighbors, a companion service to the company's line of smart products that allows residents to post and view crime or security-related incidents. And although user posts are kept anonymous, local law enforcement can view them. In fact, police can also send out requests to view footage from Ring camera owners within the range of an incident they're investigating. Should a camera owner be unwilling to supply access, theoretically police could subpoena Ring (or any camera company) to provide it (police sources we spoke to say that so far this is a rare occurrence, however).
Some camera owners elect to register their cameras through nationwide partnership programs with law enforcement, such as SafeCam and Crime Reports. Those programs may require you to give up personal data, such as your name, address, and contact information. We spoke to three different law enforcement representatives, who stated that personal information is kept confidential within each department and used only in active investigations. Still, the terms for these programs may vary, so be sure to read the small print before signing up.
While many people still worry about hackers, the new worry plaguing security camera users is whether to trust the camera manufacturer itself. Earlier this year, The Intercept reported that Ukrainian-based Ring employees were watching users' footage. Ring responded to the allegations, stating that in order to improve service, they occasionally "view and annotate" certain Ring videos. Ring also told Wirecutter that the footage in question had either been publicly shared by the user through Ring's Neighbors service or that its use had been agreed to in advance by customers via specific written consent.
Signing up for a camera or video storage shouldn't give manufacturers the right to secretly access or share your footage, but it could give them access to data the camera collects, such as who is coming and going—and when. "Unless the manufacturer and the services company tied to them explicitly says they will not snoop on the video and the audio feeds, assume at some point that they might," says Payton. "It's a violation of privacy."
Start by reading terms and conditions. We looked through 10 different privacy policies from best-selling cameras and found promises of third-party interaction, content analysis, and data collection, usually buried in very confusing legalese. It's daunting, but Hoose says to look for clauses that lay out what companies plan to do with your data, if and how they will contact you, how they plan to secure your data, and whether or not you can opt out of these policies.
1. Captain Kirk Brueggeman, O'Fallon Police Department, email interview, August 20, 2019
2. Lieutenant Daniel Henn, New Providence Police Department, email interview, August 20, 2019
3. Chris Hoose, president, Choose Networks, email interview, August 20, 2019
4. Lauren Pack, How police are using the rise in home surveillance systems to quickly solve cases, the Journal-News, March 18, 2019
5. Theresa Payton, founder/CEO of Fortalice Solutions, phone interview, August 29, 2019
6. Craig Shue, associate professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, email interview, July 30, 2019
7. Officer John Syme, Independence Police Department, email interview, August 20, 2019
8. Fremont Police Department, Home Surveillance Camera Guide
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