Hacked Wireless Monitor Let’s Man Shout Obscenities And Spy On Child

These days technology is vastly exceeding our expectations when it comes to baby products. There’s often a learning curve that comes with new devices, such as an all-in-one baby monitor, that has audio and camera controls. While this may be a great product to keep tabs on your sleeping tot, with that learning curve comes a huge blind spot for some parents, which can be seen as a vulnerability to a hacking genius.

Marc Gilbert and his wife learned the hard way when they used an internet-based baby monitor to keep an eye out on their two children. Instead of feeling safe and secure, the parents felt violated over the weekend when a disturbing incident occurred.

A hacker decided to break into the device and shout obscenities at the sleeping children. A true nightmare for the parents, they were besides themselves and felt understandably violated. Gilbert told a local news affiliate KPTV: “It felt like somebody broke into our house.”

The taunting was heard through the baby monitor, as the hacker used his mic and had complete control over the camera’s movement, or at least enough so he can see the name splashed on the toddler’s wall.

Gilbert was shocked when he heard the man’s voice in his daughter’s room, and as he approached the door he heard the man say, “Wake up Allyson, you little (expletive).”

Gilbert then rushed to the monitor and unplugged the baby monitor, and went to research the problem. What he discovered was that the hacker was able to break into his router and his camera from the comfort of his home.

Luckily for Allyson the toddler slept through the disturbing encounter. The toddler is deaf, and even though she has cochlear implants, they were turned off for the night.

Although the situation turned out differently than it could have, one reader from Parenting Patch poses an interesting comment about security, having said: “That’s just awful. A good argument for making sure you have good security on anything you put on your network.”

It certainly should be a story of caution for all new parents looking to keep a better eye on their children. So before you go out and buy that ultra cool device for your kid, make sure you do proper research on the risks.

[Image credit: Brian A. Johnson / ShutterStock]