FTC warns, connected baby monitors are more susceptible to hackers

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At the PrivacyCon event held by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week in Washington, D.C., the FTC warned that several brands of baby monitors lack basic security features like complex passwords and data encryption, making the transmission of data through connected baby monitors more susceptible to hackers. While the FTC did not reveal the brands of baby monitors it tested, Bureau of Consumer Protection attorney Seena Gressin said, “It may be time to update an old lullaby with a new stanza: “Hush little baby, don’t say a word, unless your Wi-Fi baby monitor is well-secured.” The FTC offered tips to consumers (in hopes that baby monitor manufacturers will also heed the warning), such as shopping for monitors with strong security protocols like SSL or TLS encryption, making sure that the security features are actually turned on once you get home with the device, and choosing a strong password for the monitor and the device to which the baby monitor feed is being transmitted.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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