An Internet search engine has launched a brand-new feature that allows users to spy on unsuspecting people much like the NSA does.
Shodan brands itself as the first search engine for Internet-connected devices, including web-cams, nanny cams, security systems and routers.
It allows users to see devices that are connected to the Internet, where they’re located and who is using them, making any unsecured devices vulnerable.
Judge Andrew Napolitano explained on “Shepard Smith Reporting” that the only way to stop this new software is by using encryption.
“This is, in my view, the strongest argument in favor of encryption, even though the government condemns encryption, because it says it makes law enforcement’s work too difficult,” Judge Napolitano said.
“It does. It is the job of the Constitution to make law enforcement’s work difficult, so that it will respect people’s private lives and personal liberties.”
The cameras are vulnerable because they use the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP, port 554) to share video but have no password authentication in place.
And this from zdnet.com
“In some ways, Shodan is a voyeur’s dream. A quick scan either through paid or free membership using terms such as port:554 has_screenshot:true reveals cameras installed in places ranging from car parks in Japan to bars in France, private lounges in Korea to rabbit cages in Germany.”
As reported by Ars Technica, you can use the vulnerable cam feed to find everything from “marijuana plantations, back rooms of banks, children, kitchens, living rooms, garages, front gardens, back gardens, ski slopes, swimming pools, colleges and schools, laboratories, and cash register cameras in retail stores.””
