Sadly, it took more than two months for Eufy’s parent company, Anker, to admit it some sorry and sorry. The initial denials sparked further media scrutiny as the company tried to downplay Eufy’s security flaws, tarnishing a hard-won reputation in the process. Multiple incidents and Eufy being caught lying and forced to turn around, makes it difficult to regain trust.
Eufy’s failures feel particularly egregious because the company usually ticks all the appropriate boxes. Its camera and doorbell strike a balance between quality and affordability. Anker is a respected brand in the accessories space. And Eufy offers support for two-factor authentication, although not by default, and promises full local storage and on-device processing for features like facial recognition.
Understand the risks when shopping
Although there are many security camera manufacturers, pristine reputation is rare, so how do you choose wisely? Deral Heiland, principal security researcher for the Internet of Things at fast7. “You’ve heard of it, because these companies have to protect their brands.”
Big brands are subject to more scrutiny. They are targeted by security researchers and amateur tinkerers. And they know that bad press will hurt their business. Since regulation is trivial, many unknown or lesser known brands sell untested security cameras that may contain many vulnerabilities. When things go wrong, they disappear or rebrand.
Heiland says two-factor authentication (2FA) is also important. It prevents anyone who has managed to get your credentials from accessing your camera. With 2FA, you need login details and a fingerprint, a face scan, or a single-use code automatically generated from an authenticator app, text message, or email. WIRED doesn’t recommend any security cameras that at least don’t offer a 2FA option, but we’d love to see it become the industry-wide default.
When you install a security camera, you should think about the most damaging or embarrassing thing the camera — outside or inside your home — can see. You need to understand that no internet-connected device is 100% secure.
There’s always the risk that someone will gain access to the camera—“maybe a hacker plugs in breached passwords to see if people are reusing them, or the police frequent the sites.” company, even without warrantin the hope of getting footage from people’s devices without their knowledge,” said Matthew Guariglia, policy analyst at Electronic Border Organization.
After every security camera scandal, you might find some people arguing that they don’t care who sees footage of their front door or backyard. It is true that there is little value in many of these video streams, which makes them an unlikely target. But Guariglia says security cameras often have powerful microphones and often pick up more sound than we think.
Then there’s the issue of privacy of others, whether it’s neighbors, window cleaners, or passersby. Security camera footage often shared online that the people in it were not aware of. Most cameras offer privacy zones so you can limit recordings on your property, and you should carefully consider the location when installing the camera.
