Israeli researchers find cybersecurity flaws in baby monitors, web cameras

By SHOSHANNA SOLOMON

Cybersecurity researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev say they have found serious security issues in such off-the-shelf devices as baby monitors, home security and web cameras, doorbells, and thermostats. These were easily hacked into by the researchers as part of their ongoing study into detecting the vulnerabilities of the Internet of Things, internet-connected home devices and networks.

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“It is truly frightening how easily a criminal, voyeur or pedophile can take over these devices,” said Dr. Yossi Oren, a senior lecturer in BGU’s Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering and head of the Implementation Security and Side-Channel Attacks Lab at Cyber@BGU. “Using these devices in our lab, we were able to play loud music through a baby monitor, turn off a thermostat and turn on a camera remotely, much to the concern of our researchers who themselves use these products.”