Are you being watched by Insecam?

Do you have a CCTV in your office? Don’t look now- you might be watched by the curious people at Insecam.com

I need you to stop what you are doing at look around. Do you have a CCTV installed in your office? If you do, head down now to your surveillance operators and demand they change the password. If you have a CCTV installed at home, stop reading and change your password now.

Insecam.com has put up over 73,000 live webcam feeds onto their website. Of the 73,000 webcam feeds, 785 of them are broadcasting from Singapore. It is an outrage. Every single one of these homes, offices and private buildings are having their privacy completely invaded.

What is this for?

According to the FAQ at Insecam.com, this was put in place to encourage users to not use their default passwords and to switch to a more secure one. Really? The consequence of me not changing a password AND trusting your system is having my activities be broadcast to the world? How long did they spend in their meeting approving this, half a minute? Ridiculous.

How amusing seeing that most consumers bought the CCTV to make sure the folks at home are safe while they are not at home – now, everyone can make sure the folks at home are safe. Everyone from yourself to potential home burglars seizing the opportunity.

insecam2 — Some of them even offer multiple views on one screen – how terrifyingly creepy

The severity of the situation

I clicked on one of the feeds and realized the full location details of the feed are right there. I can lock down their location with GPS in five seconds. If I am unfamiliar with GPS, I could simply pinpoint their exact block with the zip code information offered on the site

If someone with ill intent was watching this, they would be able to quickly identify the blocks with apartments that are empty. Not only that, but they also know the precise location and number of webcams in the apartment – it will be the most efficient burglary enabler ever.

cctv — Yes, this is how detailed the information available on each channel is

Steps to prevent this

I would suggest terminating your services with all the brands included in this ugly showcase – including but not limited to Foscam, Panasonic and Linksys. The alternate solution is to change your password with immediate effect and demand the site administrators take down your feed after the former step is completed.

Thanks for the insecurity, Insecam.

By Nicole Lee