Smart Security Cameras: How to Keep Your Home Security Cameras From Being Hacked by Consumer Reports

Smart security cameras that can catch a thief in the act can be a great tool for protecting your home, but they’re also a gateway for hackers to spy on you because they can access them through the internet. No wonder, then, that in a nationally representative survey conducted by Consumer Reports in 2018, 54 percent of Americans considered loss of privacy a reason not to use smart devices.

How Hacks Happen

One way security cameras are vulnerable to hacks is through a technique called “credential stuffing.” Hackers use usernames and passwords from other data breaches (that other hackers share online), to gain access to accounts. The combination of large data breaches, such as those at Equifax and Target, and consumers re-using the same passwords – 52 percent of internet users reuse or modify the same passwords – makes the work easy. In recent years, hackers have made the login credentials for over 8.2 billion online accounts available on the internet. 

Because this type of hack doesn’t require a breach of a security camera company’s systems, every brand of camera is at risk. “These companies aren’t technically at fault,” says Robert Richter, who leads security and privacy testing for Consumer Reports. “Most companies offer a two-factor authentication system that acts as an extra deterrent against attacks like this, but there is more that these companies could do, like encouraging people to use that added security feature by default.”

How to Protect Yourself

Data breaches and subsequent credential stuffing attacks won’t be going away anytime soon, but there are actually simple steps you can take to reduce the chances your security camera will get hacked:

1. Keep your camera's firmware up to date. Manufacturers that are serious about protecting their cameras will routinely release firmware updates that fix software bugs and patch security vulnerabilities. Some cameras will automatically download and install these updates, while others require that you check for updates on your own (typically, you'll find an update button under the settings menu in your camera's app).

2. Change your camera’s password. In a nationally representative Consumer Reports survey on data privacy conducted in May 2019, 13 percent of respondents with at least one online account say they use the same password for all their accounts. That makes it a cinch for hackers to gain access to multiple accounts. Always create a unique password for each account. Here’s the best way to do it:

Do: Use something long and complex – like a random phrase or string of characters – with numbers, symbols and both uppercase and lowercase letters.

Don’t: Include any personally identifiable information, such as names, birth dates, etc. Hackers can often get this information from public social media profiles, such as those on Facebook or Instagram, and then use it to guess your passwords and gain access to your accounts. You also want to avoid simple, commonly used passwords, such as SplashData's 100 worst passwords of the year. For more tips on strengthening your passwords, read our tips for better passwords.

3. Set up a password manager. These programs generate incredibly strong, random passwords for your digital accounts, securely store and remember them for you and even automatically insert them into login prompts. Many password managers are free to use and available on an array of devices and web browsers.

4. Set up two-factor authentication if your camera offers it. This extra layer of security involves you opting to have the camera company send you a onetime-use passcode via a text message, phone call, email or authentication app that you input in addition to your username and password when you log in to the account. That way, if a hacker cracks your password, they still won’t be able to access your camera unless they also gain access to your onetime code. Not all camera companies offer two-factor authentication, though. Among the models in Consumer Report’s home security camera ratings, only three major brands currently do: Amazon, Nest and Ring.

All of these methods can improve your chances of avoiding a hack, but know that they're not foolproof. “None of these methods will work perfectly on their own,” says Richter. “But right now, these measures are our best tools. Use them all!”

Top Cameras With Two-Factor Authentication

Here are a couple cameras that do well in our data privacy and security tests and which offer the extra security of two-factor authentication: