Internet-connected security cameras – including everything from generic home security cameras to government-run traffic monitoring cameras – are becoming a serious weapon in live conflicts like that between Israel and Iran.
The issue is that hackers working for one side can use the cameras in the opposing country to gather military intelligence, either to plan an attack or to assess the effectiveness of one.
This has been highlighted by Refael Franco, who used to be the director general of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, but now runs the cybersecurity crisis firm Code Blue. He specifically said that:
"We know that in the past two or three days, the Iranians have been trying to connect to cameras to understand what happened and where their missiles hit to improve their precision."
Apparently, 66,000 personal cameras in Israel were using a default password and could easily be overtaken by hackers. A separate study by BitSight found that 40,000 cameras were openly accessible to hacking in this way. The most, 14,000, are in the USA.
The main method for hacking these cameras is through the default security credentials, which can be easily found online.
So if, for example, the camera has a default password of "password", you might worry that it's an easy guess – but it'll probably be just as easy for a hacker to sift through a list of camera models and find default passwords even if they sound quite random.
How can I keep my internet-connected security camera secure?
- You might experience the password as a QR code when setting the device up in an app, but that's not to say there isn't a code, and a code that can be changed if you hunt down the instructions.
- Check that the firmware up up to date; annoying, I know, but this is how security issues get patched.
- Do you need connectivity? Consider using your cameras only on a local network with cables.
- It might be a bit excessive at home, but firewalls and VPNs can always help security, and you might want to check your router's list of login attempts from time to time to see if all the logins are expected.
Markets and Markets notes that the private surveillance industry as a whole is expected to get to nearly $88.7 billion / £65.1 billion / AU$136.7 billion worldwide by 2030, a lot more than the $54.4 billion / £39.9 billion / AU$83.8 billion in 2024 (as reported in the Video Surveillance Market study).
Israel and Iran is far from the only conflict where these cameras are being cited as an issue – but as Al Jazeera explains, using all means in intelligence operations has been a two-way street in the Middle East for some time, with both sides seemingly openly hacking electronic devices.
By providing cameras with poor security on their properties, citizens may be inadvertently helping their attackers.
More than 200 people have been killed in Iran by Israel’s strikes, while 24 have been killed in Israel by Iranian strikes.
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If you're thinking of getting a security camera, check our guide to the best outdoor security cameras.
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