While just about any type of security device has potential weaknesses, home security cameras are particularly attractive targets for hackers, criminals, and other cretins intent on disrupting your life. Older cameras are particularly vulnerable to physical and electronic threats, but even the newest cameras aren’t bulletproof if you don’t take steps to lock them down.
Fortunately, it only takes a few basic security measures and a little forethought to defend your cameras against the most common threats. We’ll walk you through the steps.
This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras.
1. Set a secure password
The first and most obvious way to protect your security camera is to set a secure password as soon as you set it up. Of all the passwords you ever create, this one is among the most important as it protects not just your camera but your home as well. Make it a long one with plenty of special characters and ensure it’s only used for this one account. In addition, be sure to change it periodically in case it is ever compromised. Every six months is a good cadence, although you might want to follow the advice of business IT security policies and change it quarterly.
Use a password generator such as the one included in Dashlane to automatically generate and store secure passwords without a fuss.
Martyn Casserly
2. Use two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication–2FA, also known as multi-factor authentication (MFA), is a common method of adding a second layer of security to your password. The most widely used type of 2FA is to require a time-limited access code to be sent to your mobile number or email address, which prevents hackers from getting into your camera’s account if they don’t also have access to your phone or computer. MFA takes this a step further by working in conjunction with an app on your phone that generates unique access codes every minute or so, which can be both easier to use and more secure than the email or text-messaging options.
3. Use end-to-end encryption
End-to-end encryption is a security measure that basically scrambles a signal in such a way that only devices using special digital keys and signatures can decode it. This is an essential feature for security cameras, as it protects against the possibility that some third-party (such as a hacker) will intercept and monitor your camera’s feed over the internet or Wi-Fi. Most older home cameras did not come with end-to-end encryption, and were prone to remote interception. Newer cameras from major brands such as Google, Netgear, Ring, SimpliSafe, Philips Hue, and others generally do support end-to-end encryption, but you might need to enable it. In some cases, it might require you to install a firmware update.
To check whether your camera has end-to-end encryption, look in your app settings and ensure it’s an available option that’s enabled. (Some cameras, such as those from Ring, require you to opt in to end-to-end encryption.) If you don’t see the option in your app, check the tech-support pages on the camera manufacturer’s website to see if it’s included either by default or via an update. If not, consider upgrading to a camera that has it. This is now a common enough feature that there’s no good reason to keep using any camera that doesn’t have it.
4. Update your firmware
Reputable security device companies release regular updates for their products to help protect against newly exposed vulnerabilities and to add new features. In many cases, such as Google Nest cameras, firmware updates are performed automatically over the network without needing any attention from the user. Check your device’s mobile app for firmware updates occasionally, and if there’s one that hasn’t been installed, go ahead and install it manually.
5. Use a dedicated account
Security devices belong to a special class of trusted equipment, and should be treated as such. While it’s generally more convenient to set them up using your primary email account, that approach can backfire if your personal email address is ever compromised. Instead, consider setting up a dedicated email account just for your security devices. That way, the only communications you should receive on the account are security alerts, and the likelihood that the account will be picked up by spammers and scammers is low as long as you never use it for anything but your security gear.
6. Enable notifications
All security cameras from reputable brands come with mobile apps that can notify you of suspicious activity seen by your camera. Often, however, these notifications become too frequent and annoying, leading users to disable them within weeks of buying the camera. Resist the temptation to ignore or disable camera notifications, as your awareness of an alert is often the only real defense the camera provides (other than acting as a visual deterrent for thieves who’d rather avoid detection). Be sure your camera is set up to catch your eye (or ear) with a push notification when it sees something. You can usually customize these alerts based on what the camera is detecting, which can help cut down on false alarms from trees blowing in the wind or cats walking by your porch.
Setting a detection zone (sometimes called an activity zone) can help focus your camera alerts on areas that matter and ignore high-volume public areas.
Foundry / Robert Strohmeyer
7. Define zones to reduce false alarms and get more useful alerts
A security camera with motion detection zones lets you draw an area inside the camera’s view and label it for use in notification rules. By excluding a sidewalk or street, you can reduce the frequency of nuisance alerts produced by cars driving by or people walking their dogs in front of your home, while ensuring you do get a notice if someone walks onto your property. Define zones for your driveway, lawn, porch, or any area that matters to you, and set your alerts for those zones only unless you’re really keen to get a ping every time anyone does anything on your street. If nothing else, seeing a zone mentioned in your push notifications can help you decide whether to check the feed when an alert comes in, and prevent notification burnout from undermining your security.
8. Secure any power cables
One of the biggest weaknesses for a lot of home security cameras is the cable that feeds its power. Cable-powered security cameras are easier to maintain over the long haul, because you don’t need to recharge their batteries, but many people skip the step of routing the power cable to a secure, interior outlet and instead plug the camera into an easily accessible outdoor outlet. If a perp sees your camera’s power cable plugged into the wall nearby, that’s a no-brainer for them to defeat. Ideally, your camera’s power source should be in an interior location, such as a garage outlet or another indoor location. Failing that, consider mounting power outlets high and out of reach, inside a locked security box. While a truly dedicated thief could always find a way to defeat your camera, casual crimes of opportunity become a little harder if the job requires cutting a cable that’s routed through a wall or climbing a ladder to get to it.
Route security camera cables away in such a way that they’re harder to tamper with or unplug. A locked outlet box mounted in a high location (left) can be a convenient method, but it’s even safer to route the power cables through a wall to an interior outlet (right).
Foundry / Robert Strohmeyer
9. Charge batteries regularly
If your camera is battery powered, be sure to check its charge level regularly and proactively charge it up when it’s below 30 percent. If your camera has a removable battery, as many Ring models do, consider buying spares so you can simply swap them out with suffering any down time. Many cameras will run for months on a single charge, so if you keep an eye on them and charge them proactively, you should never have to worry about them running out of juice. This is especially important if you have a vacation coming up, as there won’t be much you can do if your camera’s battery dies while you’re laying on a beach a thousand miles from home.
10. Mount the device securely
Your camera can’t do much to protect you if it’s sitting in a thief’s backpack as they drive away from your home. Be sure to mount your camera securely to a wall or beam, and if possible set it up somewhere that would be inconvenient to a thief to reach. Many cameras can be hard-reset with a paperclip, meaning they can be resold on the street for a few bucks. If you mount your camera high enough that it’s slightly inconvenient to reach but still has an appropriate field of view, you can reduce the likelihood of it being stolen, removed, or blinded with spray paint.
11. Use multiple cameras with overlapping fields of view
One camera by itself can be an easy target for perpetrators to circumvent or even steal. Multiple cameras with overlapping fields of view provide additional protection by being much more noticeable to potential thieves and signaling that you mean business. On my own home, I have three permanent cameras covering front approaches, including a doorbell camera, and each camera has a view of the approaches for at least one of the other two. Two are mounted high enough that they’re inconvenient targets for physical circumvention, and between the three nothing approaches my property without being noticed. This arrangement is probably my single favorite feature of my home security setup, because it lets me watch suspicious activity from multiple angles and approaches.
