The quiet of an Australian home was shattered when a mother, Eden Thomson, discovered her baby monitor had been breached by an unknown hacker while her child was fast asleep. Initially, Thomson attributed the strange noise to her son’s movements in his sleep. However, upon closer inspection, she realised the camera on the Vtech monitor was scanning the room.
In a TikTok video that has since gone viral, Thomson stated, “I saw the monitor and it was moving, scanning the room.” She further revealed, “An hour earlier, I was in the room getting my son dressed after his bath, and the monitor was on at that time.”
In response to this unsettling incident, the rattled mother discarded the monitor and cautioned other parents about the potential vulnerabilities of such devices. “Parents, be cautious of your baby monitors. They are susceptible to hacking. It’s quite simple for hackers,” she warned, adding, “It’s a terrifying reality. So, parents, please be vigilant.”
Thomson shared a video clip on her phone that showed the camera moving around her son’s room. This led to her exclaiming, “Goodness, someone is manipulating our monitor. What should I do?”
Interestingly, Thomson’s Vtech monitor was not connected to her Wi-Fi, which led to some skepticism about the likelihood of an unknown individual gaining control over the device. However, Paul Schnackenburg, proprietor of Expert IT Solutions, confirmed to news.com.au that such an incident was not only feasible but also quite prevalent.
“Just because it’s not connected to Wi-Fi, doesn’t imply it’s not linked to something else,” stated Schnackenburg. “For instance, it could be connected to Bluetooth, which is undoubtedly hackable.” He further added that networks linked to other gadgets like gaming consoles, or even the screen attached to the camera in the baby’s room, were “undoubtedly hackable.”
Over the past decade, baby monitors have gained considerable popularity, but their security measures remain “woefully inadequate.” Schnackenburg noted, “None of these devices have remotely adequate security levels.”
He cited a 2019 investigation by security researcher Troy Hunt, which revealed that a certain brand of children’s smartwatches could be easily hacked. The hackers could determine and modify a child’s location and even listen to and speak to the child. “This is incredibly terrifying,” he said, urging Australian regulators to enhance smart device security.
Schnackenburg suggested Australia should implement a measure recently introduced in the United States, known as the US Cyber Trust Mark. This initiative involves attaching a specific sticker to devices that meet certain security and privacy standards.
At the time of writing, news.com.au is awaiting a response from Vtech.