NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — A family thought they were adding an extra safety precaution to their daughter's bedroom only to find out the camera they installed had been hacked, giving a stranger access to their child.
The ring camera Ashley LeMay bought for her daughter's room was being accessed by someone outside the home.
A voice on the other end was enough to scare LeMay's 8-year-old daughter and herself. In the video, the hacker is heard playing music, using expletives and telling the child, "I'm your best friend, I'm Santa Claus."
But IT experts say this is more common than you might think.
"I would say, unfortunately, folks may not think through the ramifications of having an internet connected device especially that has a camera to your home," said Don Baham, president of Kraft Technology Group.
Baham says in cases like this the person who hacked into the camera maybe right next door.
"In this case again, somebody had to be in close proximity to that physical location, but there's other times where that isn't the case where it can be access remotely as well," Baham said.
Baham says he understands these cameras are popular but encourages people to do their homework before buying.
"That brings up the idea of making sure your in-home Wi-Fi network is secured, so do you have a secure password on the wireless network, does anybody know that password that shouldn’t, are you letting neighbors use it, are you writing it down where it’s visible to somebody else," Baham said.
