Thursday 20 November 2014

Russian website lists open webcams ... yawn - must make boring viewing

This is making UK news because some devices have default settings allowing remote access and require users to set a password.

"Is someone watching you" ... asks the Information Commissioner.


http://iconewsblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/is-someone-watching-you-right-now-a-warning-as-website-targets-insecure-webcams/

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30121159

I'm not sure what to make of this. The Information Commissioner is clearly taking the opportunity to remind everyone to use passwords and consider the internet settings of devices. There's also a bit of 'Russia bashing' going on too.

Ideally the devices themselves should not have remote access set by default and should have a tricky password that is printed on the device itself. They should be well behaved ... but there are plenty of manufacturers who are going to chuck together low-cost equipment. These cheap devices are going to be sought by customers and they will have unpredictable firmware and settings within them. Too much security is going to get in the way of people using the devices as they expect them to perform.

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