Installing an internet-connected security camera in your house won’t necessarily bring a wave of hackers to your Wi-Fi network, but it’s unfortunately happened before. For example, in 2020, an ADT home security customer noticed an unfamiliar email address connected to her home security account, a professionally monitored system that included cameras and other devices inside her home. That simple discovery, and her report of it to the company, began to topple a long line of dominoes leading back to a technician who had spied, over the course of four and a half years, on hundreds of customers — watching them live their private lives, undress and even have sex.
ADT says it has closed the loopholes that technician exploited, implementing “new safeguards, training and policies to strengthen … account security and customer privacy.” But invasions of privacy are not unique to ADT and some vulnerabilities are harder to safeguard than others.
Whether you’re using professionally monitored security systems such as ADT, Comcast Xfinity or Vivint, or you just have a few stand-alone cameras from off-the-shelf companies like Ring, Nest or Arlo, here are a few practices that can help protect your device security and data privacy. (For more home security tips, find out the best places to put your security cameras, and the best cheap home security systems you can buy.)
Is my home security system at risk for hacking?
