NARCITY – This Russian Website Is Streaming Hundreds Of Cameras In Canada Right Now

Daniel Tobok
E: [email protected]
Posted on: August 3, 2018

Last year, multiple news outlets reported on a disturbing website that provided access to live streams of unsecure cameras in Canada and several other places around the world. While some sources claimed that the website was shut down in 2014, a quick online search reveals it is still up and running in 2018, right at this very moment.

Insecam.org taps into cameras with low security, such as those that are still using factory-default passwords. You can search cameras by location, time zone, device type, manufacturer, or even based on what type of room (kitchen, living room, etc.) you’d like to see. The most popular camera models to appear on the site are older ones of Linksys, Foscam and Panasonic, which were designed to allow access to their feeds with just an IP address.

While the website stresses that the cameras it is live streaming are not hacked, it still poses a threat to personal privacy and online protection, as it does not ask for consent whatsoever. Anybody could be featured on the website without their knowledge.

In December, one dental clinic in the Toronto area was shocked to find out that their waiting room was being broadcast on the website for everyone to see. Global News had alerted the staff of the live stream and they immediately updated their security camera system. They had forgotten to change the passwords to it when it was first installed.

“Everyone was surprised and we were kind of concerned,” a staff member at the dental office told Global News. “We have a lot private information here.”

At this very moment, the website has a collection of over 400 feeds for Canada, including random street views, private offices and even the inside of people’s houses through home monitoring systems or baby cameras. These feeds are live streaming for 24 hours a day, and just about anyone can access them.

Security experts say the open connections that come from unsecured cameras or other devices could serve as potential entry points for malicious hackers. Daniel Tobok, the CEO of cyber-intelligence firm Cypfer Inc., told Global News that the options are limitless for hackers once they’ve infiltrated a server.

“They can jump into other infrastructure parts. Again, that can be the router, and they can open up other ports for them to come in with a bigger attack. They can reconfigure things like the firewall. They can jump on the Wi-Fi. There’s a lot of things that they can do.”

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