Mind your Webcam, Protect your Privacy

Among all IoT devices, webcam is one of the most popular IoT devices used in Hong Kong. However, these devices may not be installed securely in household.

In August 2016, there was a public uproar over an exhibition in the UK showing still images of webcams from around the world, including Hong Kong, as the images were collected without the webcam owners’ consent, seriously infringing their privacy. While such action was wrong, two points were highlighted from this incident:

• Security awareness of people to protect personal privacy needs to be raised.
• Security controls of webcam should be reviewed.

These are the reasons behind this Webcam study by the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT) of the Hong Kong Productivity Council.

For the detailed studies, please refer to below Security Guideline

IoT Device (Webcam) Security Study