Home > Cyber News > Popular IP Cameras Vulnerable to Hacker IoT Attacks
CYBER NEWS

Popular IP Cameras Vulnerable to Hacker IoT Attacks

IP Cameras image

Security vendors discovered that popular IP Cameras are vulnerable to dangerous remote exploits and IoT hacker attacks that can result in device abuse.

Related Story: Persirai IoT Malware Exploits CVE-2017-8224, Known Vulnerabilities

Ip Cameras Once Again Threatened By a Lack of IoT Security

IoT security continues to be categorized as severely lacking, one of the reasons listed is the ever growing discovery of serious security flaws. One of the latest problems is a flaw found among one of the popular IP cameras used around the world. According to the research this is a trivial error that can be easily exploited even by novice hackers. The vendor in question is Shenzhen Neo Electronics that produces popular products for the security industry. The detected issues are related to buffer overflow vulnerabilities among some of their most popular products – the iDoorbell and the NP-22 camera. It is suspected that all devices made by the company use the same software and it is possible that their complete product range is vulnerable is well. Effectively the security flaw can allow malicious users to overtake control of the devices at will.

Both IP cameras were found to open ports on internet gateways (routers) so that they can be remotely managed over the Internet. The security researchers used the specialist Shodan search engine to enumerate the number of active hosts. According to the security report the number of unique devices is around 175 000.

Related Story: Bricker Malware Disables IoT Devices Creating Risk

Further Information About The Ip Cameras and Possible Attacks

Both of the identified models were found to host two separate vulnerabilities – the first one is associated with the web server service itself while the other is related to the RSTP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) server.

  1. Web Server Exploit – This is a vulnerability that exploits a mishandling of the way the built-in web server handles requests. When somebody attempts to login to the device the credentials are passed in a special request. An overflow attack was demonstrated that allows the attackers to bypass the protection.
  2. RSTP Exploit – The issue was identified during the authorization process. The hackers can manipulate important server strings that can cause remote code execution.

The demonstrated attacks are classified as “proof of concept” meaning that no actual hacker attacks have been reported yet. However the fact that the technical details are posted online it would be very easy even for beginners to start coordinating mass attacks. We remind our readers that the authentication bug allows practically everyone to attempt the exploits.

Consequences of a Hacker Attack Against Popular IP Cameras

This attack serves as a reminder on how weak IoT security actually is. Remote code execution is one of the most dangerous scenarios available to computer criminals. They can use the infected devices to carry out botnet attacks or infect network hosts with dangerous viruses and other types of malware.

Many hacked IoT devices have been used in the past for surveillance purposes – the computer criminals can spy on the network traffic when the compromised devices serve as gateways, routers or modems. In this case hacked IP cameras can give valuable insight about the victims and the buildings or areas that they guard.

It is strongly recommended that all computer users employ a quality anti-spyware solution. It can be used to guard against potential intrusions and found malware threats can be eliminated easily with a few mouse clicks.

Download

Malware Removal Tool


Spy Hunter scanner will only detect the threat. If you want the threat to be automatically removed, you need to purchase the full version of the anti-malware tool.Find Out More About SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool / How to Uninstall SpyHunter

Martin Beltov

Martin graduated with a degree in Publishing from Sofia University. As a cyber security enthusiast he enjoys writing about the latest threats and mechanisms of intrusion.

More Posts

Follow Me:
Twitter

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
I Agree