FTC cracks down on hacked video camera maker
FTC cracks down on hacked video camera maker: The Federal Trade Commission has cracked down on web-connected video camera company TRENDnet after hackers demonstrated security flaws that called users’ privacy into question.
The FTC alleged that the company didn’t bake in proper security measures to protect its users. To demonstrate the flaw, hackers posted live feeds of nearly 700 cameras in January 2012. The feeds were available for anyone to view online.
“The feeds displayed babies asleep in their cribs, young children playing, and adults going about their daily lives,” the FTC said in a post on its web site.
In a statement, TRENDnet said that as soon as learned of the problem last year, the company “immediately initiated every effort to respond to and resolve the hack.” TRENDnet added that the company “updated its software to fix the glitch and alerted customers.”
As part of the settlement with TRENDnet, the FTC demanded the company build “a comprehensive information security program,” that would address these type of problems. The FTC also said that TRENDnet was “prohibited from misrepresenting the security of its cameras or the security, privacy, confidentiality, or integrity of the information that its cameras or other devices transmit.”