Baby Monitor Hack Exposes 1 Million Homes

A significant security flaw in Meari Technology's Wi-Fi baby monitors and security cameras exposed over a million devices globally. A security researcher discovered a single key that granted access to cameras across 118 countries. These devices were broadcasting sensitive information, including private photos stored on unprotected Chinese servers. The vulnerability also exposed company internal servers with employee credentials and passwords.

Meari Technology initially downplayed the issue, despite prior reports of vulnerabilities. The company eventually admitted to the risks, stating that attackers could intercept messages and that weak passwords led to potential remote code execution. Meari claims to have shut down the affected platform, changed passwords, and advised customers to update firmware to versions 3.0.0 or higher.

However, it remains unclear how many of the million devices can receive the firmware update, and Meari has not confirmed if its partners have warned customers. Some partners, like Intelbras, acknowledged a small number of affected units, while others did not respond. Congressman Ro Khanna has pledged to investigate the matter. The researcher received a €24,000 bug bounty, though the company's initial response included veiled threats.