How Surveillance Cameras Can Be used As A Weapon Against You

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Robert Graham, Daily Beast: How Surveillance Cameras Have Become an Internet Superweapon

Major parts of the internet were crashed on Friday by hackers using devices like security cameras around the world. How is this possible?

On Friday, hackers crashed parts of the internet, specifically services located on the East Coast of the United States. They used an old technique known for 20 years, a “DNS DDoS.”

However, instead of launching the attack from virus-infected computers as has been the norm, hackers launched the attack from small, internet-connected devices like security cameras. This is a worrisome development—such devices offer hackers a powerful new weapon.

The “Internet-of-Things” (IoT) revolution is sweeping the internet, adding cars, pacemakers, industrial robots, toasters, and security cameras to the internet. If you own an appliance or device that uses electricity, you can find a similar device which connects to the internet. Through a voice-activated device such as an Amazon Echo, you can command the coffee to start brewing, the car to start warming, and the lights to turn on in the morning—all before getting out of bed. According to research group Gartner, more than 6 billion of these devices will be on the internet by the end of 2016.

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WNU Editor: I have cameras installed outside of my home .... I use it to know who is at my front door (I work from my basement office, and to get to the front door is a walk), and I also believe that they discourage anyone who may be "snooping around" (my part of the world had a problem with burglaries a year back). The idea that someone may hack these devices is nothing new .... but to do it in such a concentrated matter ,... and be very effective about it as it was the case last week .... is a surprise.