LITTLE ROCK -- Home surveillance systems are designed to increase safety, but recent reports prove they may only be as secure as the password homeowners use.
Consumers often use the same passwords for multiple accounts, including popular and overused passwords that should never be used. In recent years, credentials for more than 8 billion online accounts have been compromised, adding to the necessity of changing login information more frequently, the attorney general's office said in a news release.
"Nothing is more important than your family's safety," Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in the release. "Hackers attacking your home security system could easily have eyes on our families, so just like changing the battery in a smoke alarm, we need to make changing our sensitive passwords a priority."
Once a device such as a router or camera in a home is compromised, hackers can often connect to other systems. Since the security breach is through an individual home system and not a security camera company, every camera or device connected to the internet is at risk.
The attorney general's office offers these recommendations to help better secure your home from hackers:
ā¢ Create complex passwords for all accounts, including cameras, Wi-Fi and router.
ā¢ Add two-factor authentication if available.
ā¢ Upgrade to a cloud-based system.
ā¢ Update devices regularly.
ā¢ Choose a surveillance system from a reliable source with excellent customer service.
Anyone who receives a call, text or email with an unsolicited confirmation code request, should consider changing their password immediately.
If an account is breached, contact the surveillance system provider and local law enforcement.
Call the attorney general's office at 800-482-8982, email [email protected] or visit http://www.ArkansasAG.gov or http://www.facebook.com/AGLeslieRutledge for more information.
Society on 02/02/2020