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TIL my smart doorbell was a security risk for 6 months | Cybersecurity Tips - Vivisector

TIL my smart doorbell was a security risk for 6 months

I got a Ring doorbell last year. Never changed the default password. Last week my neighbor mentioned someone was shouting weird stuff through it at 3am. Checked the logs and someone from another state was watching my front door feed. Changed the password and turned on two-factor right away. How do you keep your smart home stuff locked down without making it a hassle?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinn1614mo ago

I get what you're saying @linda_reed, but having someone watch your house for 6 months is more than just a minor annoyance in my book. They could have figured out your work schedule, seen when your kids come home from school, or spotted any packages you left out. It's not about nuclear codes, it's about feeling safe in your own home and not having some random person know your daily routine.

harperp244mo ago

Someone from another state was watching my front door feed" - yeah that part got me too. I had almost the same thing happen with my Nest camera last year. What I do now is rotate the wifi password every few months and keep all my smart home devices on a guest network that's separate from my main stuff. Also set up alerts so my phone buzzes if any new device tries to connect to the network, that way I catch things quick. Two-factor is non-negotiable once I got burned like you did, and I keep a list of passwords in a notebook that stays in my house so I don't have to remember everything but it's not stored online.

linda_reed4mo ago

Question how serious it really is though. I mean yeah someone saw your front porch for a while, big deal. Unless you're storing nuclear codes in a box by the door or something, what real damage did they do? I get the privacy creep factor (and it is creepy, don't get me wrong) but this sounds more like a minor annoyance than a true security risk.