March 30, 2023
How was your webcam hacked? Typically, with these three methods
As network surveillance cameras continue to be popularized, especially in current trend of Internet of Things era, surveillance solutions are connected to more and more devices, which brings great convenience, but also creates many new problems such as network. safety is most important issue.
In past few years, there have been endless reports of cameras being attacked by web. Video surveillance is just as vulnerable as other devices to network security issues. How to strengthen network security, you need to start with common attack methods:
1. In many cases, attacker will typically scan protocol and port of camera and then view and access device management page. If that fails, it opts for a more sophisticated scan to find camera and impersonate an authorized user. It's worth noting that attackers don't need to exploit software vulnerabilities to attack cameras: design flaws in many cameras or other connected devices can be an entry point for hackers if they discover security vulnerabilities.
From this point on, it is clear that if camera has a certain security mechanism implemented at beginning of development, then even if loopholes are found in camera later, it will not be easy for attackers to exploit them. these loopholes. At same time, equipment vendors will also provide information in a timely manner, like other network equipment, to improve security through updates;
Second, another common technique is for attackers to use known software vulnerabilities in open source or a third-party camera library to attack. For example, web server is a relatively vulnerable component. Web server vulnerabilities to access camera news;
3. Attackers use command injection attacks, which means that since web applications do not strictly filter data sent by users, hackers can create special command lines to send data to web applications and use this method to execute external programs or system commands to carry out attacks, illegally obtain data or network resources, etc. In other words, as long as developers are good at filtering data and using whitelists correctly, they can avoid these types of attacks.
Summarizing above attack methods, users should:
One of them is to change initial password. At same time, it is worth noting that in addition to problem with initial password, manufacturer may also have a "hidden" username and password. Its original meaning is mainly used for product testing, but when it is discovered and used by hackers, it will also have a big impact;
Second, pay attention to information provided by manufacturer in a timely manner and do a good job of updating security of equipment. Of course, this is only basic work in face of unknown network problems. Attackers can bypass attack, that is, gain access to camera through weak security authentication methods. In more complex cases, they can also use malware to exploit code vulnerabilities in uploading other virus files, attack other targets, etc.
