, SecurityFocus 2005-01-07
Blogs and message forums buzzed this week with the discovery that a pair of simple Google searches permits access to well over 1,000 unprotected surveillance cameras around the world -- apparently without their owners' knowledge.
Video surfers are using this knowledge to peek in on office and restaurant interiors, a Japanese barnyard, women doing laundry, the interior of an Internet collocation facility, and a cage full of rodents, among other things, in locales scattered around the world.
News of the panoptical search queries apparently began on a community Web forum, then
In the past, geeks wanting to peek in on surveillance cams have driven around with receivers and special antenna rigs to
One of the Google search strings circulating summons a list of nearly 1,000 installed network cameras made by Swedish-based
According to their websites, both companies offer the ability to password-protect the Web interfaces to their cameras, and Axis has a feature that blocks access to webcams from all but approved Internet IP addresses. It's not apparent whether the security features are enabled by default. A FAQ on Panasonic's website includes a warning that their network cameras may not be right for "sensitive applications," and sports a broad disclaimer: "No specific claims are made pertaining to specific levels of security the camera offers."
