Eufy security camera owners have found themselves to be able to see live videos and recording others, random users, in large privacy violations that affect the anker company. Affordable camera owners began reporting this problem before, with access to other user cameras – including pan & tilt controls on certain models – elsewhere in the world.
Eufy offers a variety of models, designed for indoor and outdoor use, along with video door bell, baby monitor, and spotlight cameras for exterior security. Some cameras support remote pan & tilt functionality, where the lens can be moved to see the room from the EuFy application.
But when some owners tried to see their cameras earlier today, they realized that they did not see their own feed. Instead, they have access to what appears to be a direct-based clip and cloud-based from random users elsewhere in the world. Others can see a list of warnings that have been produced by the camera for the last day or more.
The owner on Reddit confirmed the problem, as did at least one camera owner at 9to5mac. While the right functionality seems different in some cases, some users can take video recordings remotely and save them to their own cellphones from random bait. Others report capable of accessing EuFy settings on remote systems, including home network information.
This is a great concern for those who have bought Eufy’s product ecosystem, especially among those who have installed cameras in the house or to monitor their children. Eufy users concerned find that out of their account and then come back again, plus the power of cycling home base, enough to restore access to their own system. However, the others just pull out their cameras at all, which seemed to be a wise reaction.
Security violations and privacy irregularities are not uncommon at this time, but the impact is always more important when it is a home security company like Eufy affected. Wyze, other low-cost cameras and smart home technology providers, experienced large database violations at the end of 2019, for example, even though it did not see anyone able to access other user accounts in the same way as this eufy problem.
Eufy has not yet commented officially on the problem today. According to a message distributed at the official EuFy Forum, it is said that from the company’s support team, “the problem is because of a bug on one of our servers” which “was quickly completed by our engineering team.” Even if it’s authentic, whether it’s enough to convince the company’s customers who still have to be seen.
Updates (1 PM EST): In a statement to Slashgear, spokesman Anker blamed the bug in the upgrade server installed earlier today for Eufy’s problems.
“Because of the software bug during our latest upgrade server at 4:50 Est today, a limited number (0.001%) from users we can access video feedback from other user cameras,” Bryan Saxton, the Pr Manager’s assistant at Anker Innovation told us. “Our engineering team recognizes this problem around 5:30 a.m., and quickly fix it at 6:30 Est.”
According to Saxton, only users in the US, New Zealand, Australia, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina were affected; Users in Europe no. Eufy Baby Monitor, Eufy Smart Locks, Eufy Alarm System Device, and Eufy Petcare products are also not affected. The EuFy customer service team will contact those who are included in the violation of privacy.
“We realize that as a security company, we don’t do it well,” Saxton said. “We apologize we fell here and were working on a new security protocol and steps to ensure that this never happened again.” Eufy customers with questions or problems are advised to contact the company’s support team.