According to this article
A couple living in a California town near San Francisco told local media they experienced "sheer terror" over the weekend when a Nest security camera atop their family's television issued a realistic-sounding warning of missiles heading to the United States from North Korea.
Other instances of hacked Nest devices with various results have occurred recently.
Nest, which is owned by Google-parent Alphabet, told AFP that incidents of commandeered camera control in recent months were the result of hackers using passwords stolen from other online venues.
If you haven't done so recently (regardless of whether you own a Nest device) it is worthwhile to check for known compromises of your account(s). You need do nothing wrong to have your credentials exposed other than signing up on one of the thousands of internet sites that have been compromised over the years.
People can check online at sites such as http://www.haveibeenpwned.com to see whether their email addresses have been found in troves of stolen data.
Having your credentials exposed is the norm these days, and rare indeed is someone without at least one or two breaches that include their information. This is why avoiding password re-use is critical in today's online world - so that when your Blizzard account is pwned, it doesn't expose your Paypal, banking, or worse, SoylentNews account.
It is a pain, but keep those passwords different somehow. Password managers such as Keepass are useful for this.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @05:18AM (5 children)
Shit like this deserves public execution.
Or maybe a huge black cock up the ass every day for about 15 years.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @05:25AM
Damn it! Of all the stories to find my account has been hacked!? Oh the irony ...
(Score: 5, Informative) by Kalas on Friday January 25 2019, @05:31AM (3 children)
That's rather severe for the person foolish enough to put such a device in their home. Save that for the people making it.
As for the prank, I think it's kind of funny. Anyone putting an insecure, closed spying device in their home deserves shit like this.
I just hope there's enough ongoing media coverage of crap like this for a majority of people to realize how stupid you'd have to be to use it, much less pay for it.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @06:16AM (2 children)
"Anyone putting an insecure, closed spying device in their home deserves shit like this."
.
You deserve to have an inoperable brain tumor which causes you to be paralyzed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @06:54AM
OOooh, scary.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 26 2019, @12:46PM
Stupidity really does know no bounds.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by stretch611 on Friday January 25 2019, @05:37AM (3 children)
All hail Keepass...
That is what I use for everything.
Keepass is multiplatform... including Android, Linux, Mac, and that other thing. :P
Keepass allows the creation of a key file for extra security.
Keepass is local. There is no centralized server. While it means people must keep their password database backed up and updated themselves, it also means no big target for hackers on an online database with stored credentials for a 1000 or a million users.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 5, Funny) by Kalas on Friday January 25 2019, @05:56AM
So in other words, Keepass will keep your ass secure.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @06:23AM (1 child)
It is better to keep your passwords stored away from the CPU (which can be intercepted via the Intel Management Engine) and protected by a key that self-destructs after several concurrent failed attempts to unlock it: https://www.themooltipass.com/ [themooltipass.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @12:49PM
"multipass". maybe I'm being sexist or something, but that girl was, indeed, the perfect being.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Mykl on Friday January 25 2019, @05:56AM (5 children)
This is why I'll never go down the Smart Home route - too many opportunities for your house to be pwned. I had always thought that a lot of home automation was a solution in search of a problem, but with the solution creating more problems than they solve, I doubt that the market will really generate the critical mass needed to become commonplace.
- Remote door locks that can be bypassed
- heating/cooling systems that could be fiddled with for lulz
- Security systems that allow hackers to watch you in your own home
- Voice control systems that report your conversations back to base
(Score: 5, Insightful) by hopp on Friday January 25 2019, @06:41AM (4 children)
Here's the thing, a smart home isn't the problem, Improper security protocol is. I use smart sensors and controls but I wall them off from the rest of the world and the rest of my networks. A simple VPN to your own assets and you can have a smart home with ubiquitous access and improved security.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @12:53PM (2 children)
here's the thing.
rather than waste time and energy with these idiotic devices, spend 15mins a week talking to your neighbours and becoming friends.
then, when you're on vacation and you can't remember if you locked the back door, call them and ask them to check it.
advantages:
1. most neighbours are smarter than these smart devices.
2. you talk to people instead of tinkering with spying devices.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @01:51PM
Still doesn't catch anyone in case you get robbed and neighbor is watching TV or not home.
Don't offload security to your neighbor. They are just an added feature.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @06:40PM
Most people here would sooner trust their own technical skills than the competence, attention span, and goodwill of some local meatbag.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 26 2019, @03:46AM
(Score: 5, Funny) by FatPhil on Friday January 25 2019, @08:24AM (2 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday January 25 2019, @02:48PM (1 child)
My wireless network (secured with ultra-strong pass and hidden) is called "Nest," but only because of A. Wyatt Mann's award-winning cartoon Homosexual Love Nest, [4pcdn.org] which is an accurate depiction of my apartment.
Welp, time to change my SSID. How about to, Question? [i.redd.it]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @04:02PM
Only literal neo-nazis have ever heard of A. Wyatt Mann. Thanks for the confirmation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 27 2019, @11:06AM
To try and expose all your private life to google in any way possible.