How to Protect Baby Monitors from Being Hacked?

Baby monitors are boon for families constituting both parents working or single parent. Not only that, the device can help parents monitor their baby even when they are in some other room. Furthermore, parents can use it to keep an eye on the caretakers looking after your baby. It is the most convenient way to ensure the safety of your child. You could be away from your child due to various unavoidable reasons but by simply logging into your baby monitor app, you could get virtually closer to your child.

However, one needs to bear in mind that these baby monitors are often connected to the Wi-Fi and almost all wireless connections are at the risk of being hacked. This issue becomes even graver because people are ready to spend billions to secure the data on their desktops, laptops, and sometimes even phones but may not view a baby monitor as a threat. The fact that something as simple as a baby monitor may seem too innocent to be hacked makes it a more damaging threat.

Why Should You Secure Your Baby Monitors?

An unsecure baby monitor is much like leaving your home’s window open for strangers to peep and pry. If a hacker gains access to your baby monitor, especially the video footage, then they are very much capable of causing harm to your family and family members.

Once they make it to your account, they gain access to all the controls that you make use of. Unfortunately, their intention is quite the opposite to yours – to cause harm. It is not just about the digital threat but also consider the potential danger, which could be financial, physical, or emotional. Hackers could monitor your coming and going to plan out a burglary.

Information gained through audio and video inputs from the baby monitor can be misused to steal your identity. And worst of all, the hacker could be a voyeur or a pedophile!

Steps to Secure Your Baby Monitor

Regardless of what could be the motive behind the potential attacker, it is important to secure your baby monitor. You can do so by sticking to the following tips:

Data Encryption

If you haven’t yet bought the baby monitor, researching on the ones available in the market is the best place to start. Choose one with strong data encryption. There are two main types of spread spectrums in radio communication – Direct-sequence spread spectrum, or DSSS; and frequency-hopping spread spectrum, or FHSS. Pick the one with FHSS since they are supposedly more secure.

Transmission Signal Type

A baby monitor transmitting information over an analog signal will emit muffled sounds with static in the background. While these may seem like an obsolete model, some oblivious parents still end up purchasing the analog ones since it is cost-effective. These analog models can pick up interferences from any other analog device and thus can be easily encroached. Instead, settle for a baby monitor emitting binary codes (the digital format) to reduce the risk of being hacked.

Network Security

While it is important to have a safe and secure baby monitor, it is also essential to ensure that the network that it runs on is also private. Change the service set identifier, SSID, from the factory settings to make your wireless local area network (WLAN) safer. Default passwords and login details make your network vulnerable to malicious entities.

Once you take these measures, you will have a safe and secure baby monitor. Following these basic safety tips can keep your baby and your family protected.

Bradon Wilson is an inventive person who has been doing intensive research in particular topics and writing blogs and articles on Brother Printer Support and many other related topics. He is a very knowledgeable person with lots of experience.

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