‘Extremely scary’: Baby monitor hacking is on the rise in SA and here are measures you can put in place to prevent it
Can baby monitors really be hacked? Two experts weigh in after highly publicised cases where men’s voices were heard talking to infants.
Mount Gambier
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Two Adelaide cybersecurity experts have said the threat of baby monitors being hacked is “very possible”, but there are steps parents and caregivers can take to stop it.
Several public cases of baby monitoring in SA have emerged since October last year.
Two Adelaide influencers recently spoke of the problem and this week Mount Gambier mum, Casey Ebel who heard a man’s voice on her baby Maicy’s Wi-Fi video monitor spoke of the ordeal.
“She was talking and I thought that was a bit odd,” Ms Ebel said.
“Maicy put her hands up to cover her ears and started crying and screaming for me so I went running to her.
“As I was almost at her bedroom door I heard a man’s voice come from the monitor, I couldn’t make out exactly what it said, but it was ‘something, something door’.
“She was crying and so unsettled, so I took her to my room. Her dad went outside and couldn’t see anything.”
Professor Jill Slay of the UniSA’s SmartSat Professorial Chair in Cybersecurity said that Wi-Fi-enabled baby monitors, like any other internet-connected device, are at risk of being hacked.
“It’s been quite common in the past,” Professor Slay said.
“A few years ago there was a big issue of people hacking into baby monitors that were built into teddy bears.
“As soon as we connect baby monitors to the internet, they become a target for hackers the same way everything else connected to the internet is.”
“The problem with this is the nature of the device itself. If you buy yourself a baby monitor manufactured overseas, it’s likely not going to have any cyber security on it.”
Dr Alireza Jolfaei, an Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at Flinders University said it was “very easy” for manufacturing companies’ data to be breached and end up online where other people can find it and gain access to devices.
So what can parents and caregivers do to prevent hackers from gaining access to their baby monitors and consequently, their children?
Professor Slay said the most important thing is buying a baby monitor from a reputable supplier and not be seduced by a cheaper purchase.
Other experts suggest staying away from internet-based monitors altogether.
Mount Barker mother Bonnie Pistola said she finds the phenomena of baby monitor hacking “extremely scary”.
“When you are using baby monitors to help ensure the safety of your kids, it now seems unsafe knowing that predators can hack the monitoring systems,” she said.
“As a parent we have so much to worry about and this just feels like a whole other burden of worry to add to parenting.”
“It’s not only scary for the parent, but also for a poor child to hear someone else’s voice other than mum or dads, it’s just wrong.”
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