Hey everyone!
You know those great security cameras we have around our homes? They’re fantastic for monitoring things, but there’s a hidden risk: they can get hacked. Scary, right? But don’t worry! I’ve got some simple tips to keep your cameras secure.
Understanding the Risks
Why would someone want to hack into our cameras? Well, there are a few reasons. Some hackers, called white hats, look for system vulnerabilities to help improve security. Cool, right? But then there are black hat hackers who want to exploit our cameras for shady reasons, like stealing data or using our camera’s processing power for their own gain. Definitely not cool.
Identifying Vulnerabilities
How do these hackers get in? It usually starts with guessing passwords or finding security loopholes. Once inside, they might trick us into clicking on malware, giving them more control. If they’re really persistent, they might even access our entire network. Frightening stuff!
Protecting Your Security Cameras
But don’t worry! Here are some easy steps to protect your cameras:
- Research Before Buying
Before purchasing new cameras, check for security features like encryption and regular updates to help block hackers.
- Secure Your Network
Treat your home network like a fortress. Use a strong router password, enable your firewall, and update your router’s software regularly.
- Keep Your Cameras Updated
Like phones and computers, security cameras need regular updates. Check for updates often, and enable automatic updates if possible.
- Use Strong Passwords
Set a strong password for your cameras, and avoid using the default ones. If your camera supports two-factor authentication, activate it for extra protection.
- Enable Security Features
Make sure built-in security features like encryption and firewalls are turned on to ward off hackers.
- Be Cautious with Remote Viewing
If you access your camera feed from your phone, ensure the feed is encrypted and only accessible by trusted devices and accounts.
By following these simple tips, you can secure your home cameras and protect your home and loved ones. Have any other tips? Share them in the comments! Let’s keep each other safe.
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I’d recommend taking extra steps to secure your network. Instead of just using a firewall, make sure cameras, home automation, and security devices are completely cut off from the internet. Essentially, treat them like a closed circuit network, disconnected from the wider internet. If you need remote access to these devices, set up a VPN to your home network. This way, you only have one entry point to your network instead of multiple. Plus, VPN protocols are generally more secure and receive faster security patches than individual cameras.
In short: Every device is a potential weak point, and cameras and IoT devices have a poor history of security. Block them from the internet entirely and access them locally; use a VPN for remote access. VPNs on your router offer a more secure single entry point, reducing the chances of a breach.
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I totally agree! Taking extra precautions like blocking cameras, home automation, and security devices from direct internet access and instead accessing them via a VPN adds an additional layer of protection. This closed-circuit approach minimizes potential points of entry for hackers and ensures that your devices are only accessible within your local network. Plus, using VPNs on your router offers greater security and simplifies remote access.
Thanks for sharing this valuable suggestion!
This is why it gets confusing and people feel overwhelmed. I’ve been doing research, and I still can’t figure out what people are talking about. I was planning to buy some Axis cameras, a PoE switch, and an NVR, but I have no idea if that setup will be exposed to the internet if I don’t connect the NVR to my router and just connect the cameras to the NVR, then the NVR to a monitor.
People explain these things as if everyone understands, but I have no clue what they’re saying. When they say “block your NVR from accessing the internet,” I’m left wondering how it would even access the internet in the first place.
I’d recommend looking into Ubiquiti UniFi routing gear. It’s near-enterprise grade hardware, but with Apple levels of polish and ease of use. There’s tons of videos available explaining exactly what to do. Check out Crosstalk Solutions or The Hook Up for videos specifically on what I described.
When someone says something you don’t understand, the best way forward is to try and learn what they are talking about, rather than say “too difficult” and move on.
Another angle to think about - a bad actor could walk up to your place, pull the Ethernet cable out of an external camera and plug it into a laptop. Now they have a hard-line into your network…
Such a good point. And realistically the only way to protect against this is virtual or physical network segregation, which can be tough for a layperson to implement
How? I don’t understand this. If I have PoE cameras that are wired directly to the NVR and the NVR is just connected to my monitor and not to my router (it works that way, right?) Then how can they access my network? Seems like they could only access the NVR.
Many people don’t connect their cameras directly to an NVR; instead, they connect them to a separate PoE switch, which is a common recommendation in the Reolink community. In this setup, you need to make sure the cameras are properly segregated and firewalled, though I suspect most people don’t do this.
In your configuration, the potential risk is someone gaining direct access to your NVR, exploiting a vulnerability to take control of it, and then moving into your internal network. Since NVRs are essentially computers, this is theoretically possible.
The most important thing: choose cameras with strong security encryption. For example, I’ve seen Reolink launched a wifi6 lineup, it says the cameras use WPA3 as the security encryption. So I don’t know if this gonna be better. But I’ve been using Reolink cameras for years. No security problems detected so far.