Serious Vulnerable make smart cameras spy tools

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered many security Vulnerable in common smart cameras commonly used in child surveillance systems and in security surveillance for offices and homes. Research by researchers has shown that open defects may allow attackers to remotely access the audio and video feeds from cameras, disrupt their systems, Random malicious software, and do many other things.


Modern smart cameras have a number of advanced functions that allow users to take advantage of them in different ways. They can be used as advanced child control tools or security surveillance systems to control any potential intruders in homes or offices while they are free of residents or employees.

But the question remains as to whether these cameras are secure enough in terms of design, and what if they started to monitor users themselves rather than their homes or offices!

Previous analysis by several security agencies has shown that smart cameras typically present security holes at different levels of risk, but Kaspersky Lab experts have revealed in their latest research something else unusual. They have found a whole range of smart cameras with the number of holes Made it vulnerable to dangerous remote attacks, due to gaps in a cloud support system designed to enable owners of these cameras to remotely access their voice and image transmissions but were found to be unsafe.

Internet criminals can carry out the following attacks if they can exploit those vulnerabilities in the system:

• Access audio and video streaming from any camera connected to that cloud service.
• Remote access to camera depth and use as a launching pad for attacks on other devices connected to local and external networks.
• Download malicious software remotely and use it to perform random sabotage operations.
• Stealing personal information for users such as access information to social networking accounts that can be used to send user notifications.
• Disable remote cameras remotely.

Kaspersky Lab researchers, after the discovery with the manufacturer of these cameras, continued to report the gaps found in them. As of the time of publication, some gaps had been repaired and work was under way For the manufacturer.

All of these attacks were possible because experts found that the way cameras interact with the cloud service was unsafe and open to relatively easy interference, and found that the cloud architecture itself was vulnerable to external interference.

But such attacks can only take place if the attackers know the serial number of the camera, but it is relatively easy to get the serial numbers through so-called "brute force" attacks, which the camera's recording system did not have strong protection against.

During their research, Kaspersky Lab experts identified nearly 2,000 Internet-connected and vulnerable cameras, but only those with their own IP address, making them directly connected to the Internet, so the number could be Real-time cameras connected indirectly via routers or firewalls, several times higher.

In addition, the researchers found an undocumented function that could be used by the manufacturer for final product tests, but criminals could use this function as a hidden input to send wrong signals to any camera or change a command sent to it, A vulnerability has been detected in the function itself, and this vulnerability can be exploited by overflow the data from the camera, which may cause it to shut down and the manufacturer has fixed the problem and removed the functionality.

"The problem with the security of Internet devices today is the mistaken belief of both users and hardware manufacturers that most of the security problems will be caused by the security of the Internet," said Vladimir Dashenko, head of the Gap Research Group at Kaspersky Lab's Industrial Control Systems. Resolved, or at least significantly reduced, when the device is placed in the home or office network and disconnected from direct Internet connection via a router. "

"This is true in many cases. Before using vulnerabilities in connected devices within a target network, criminals must first try to access the router for that network, but our research shows that this may not be true at all, Since the cameras we tested were able to connect to the outside world, only through a cloud service found to be weak and vulnerable. "

"It was interesting, on the other hand, to discover that cameras can also be used in mining transformers, along with previously described attack vectors such as malware and botnet, and although mining has become one of the major security threats facing companies , The mining of Internet objects devices is a trend arising due to the increasing proliferation of these devices, will be continuously enhanced. "

"Customer security is the top priority for us, so we have fixed security holes in the cameras, including downloading malicious software remotely and using it for random sabotage. We have released a software update for all of our users, And will be reformed soon. "

Kaspersky Lab strongly advises users to do the following to maintain electronic security:

Change your basic password, use one complex with care to change it regularly.

Attention to security problems in connected devices Before purchasing a smart home or office device, information about available and repaired gaps is usually available on the Internet and is often easy to find.

Kaspersky Lab urges manufacturers to enhance e-security in their products and stresses the importance of ensuring proper threat assessment and understanding, and the importance of developing a "security by design" environment. Kaspersky Lab spares no effort to cooperate with manufacturers and reports on all gaps Security that is detected in its organs.