Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) issued a warning on Wednesday reminding people that these systems can be susceptible to hackers because many have an option to be used remotely enabled by default after a family from southwestern Ontario witnessed on July 7 a baby monitor watching their young child when it suddenly began playing music and a voice said they were being watched.
According to Liz Melvin, the OPP Const, the child was about to sleep in the nursery when the camera was remotely activated.
“The camera played some eerie music and a voice could be heard indicating the parent and child were being watched,” Melvin told National Post. “Obviously it’s going to be disturbing.”
She said the family’s Internet service provider confirmed the router had been hacked and the source of the hack could be from anywhere in the world.
Although, such kid monitor hacking cases have been reported every month, Melvin said no other incidences have been reported and she wasn’t aware of any past investigations into this type of camera hacking in the area.
She said there are no suspects in the case and the investigation is ongoing.
In a bid to protect, people should use passwords to protect access to the Internet connection and access to monitoring systems. Similarly, buy cameras from trusted sources and cover them cameras when not in use.
