Home security camera default usernames and passwords may invite peeping Toms, Calgary police warn

If you're still using the default username and password on your home surveillance devices, whatever is happening inyour kitchen, bedroom even your baby's crib could be available online for anyone to see, Calgary police warn.

"From a baby monitor to a front doorbell camera they're all connected to your home WiFi network through your home router. So that's most likely where the majority of the vulnerabilities are coming from," said Const.Jeremy Shaw.

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The digital communications officer said the problem starts when homeowners havean openWiFi network or a router with a predictable password like "adminadmin" or "passwordpassword."

Then, they don't changethegeneric IP addresses, usernames and passwords that come with the security camera.

Once you've been hacked,yourvideo feed is considered an open network andthe footage can be picked up on aggregating websites that stream live video.

"There's not wrong-doing in accessing that. So it's a matter of being aware of your settings and making sure that network is secure and you don't have yourWiFiopen," said Shaw.

And while those aggregatingsites dostreamfeeds intended for public viewing such as weather, traffic and wildlifecams Shaw has seen many families that appear to have "no idea someone is watching them."

The password you really ought to change

Calgary police became aware of this issue after being contacted by a woman from Texas who had downloaded an app featuring several live feeds.

"She just kind of said, 'Hey you should probably know that there's people in your jurisdiction that have their cameras online, I'm not sure if they're aware of it or not,' [and] that's where we started to look into it," said Shaw.

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The key message, said Shaw, is to make sure you change thosedefault passwords and "pick something a little more unique."

With files from theCalgaryEyeopener