Wzye
Security app lets customers peek into other people’s homes – and blames Amazon
The security cameras from the manufacturer Wyze are particularly popular because of their affordable prices
© Wyze / PR
Modern security cameras allow you to keep an eye on your own home even when you’re on the move. Others were now able to take a look at the manufacturer Wyze. Those affected are shocked.
If the pet is well, the children have arrived safely after school or a check to see whether everything is in order during the holiday: there are many reasons to equip your home with a security camera. However, very few people would want a camera like this to allow strangers a look into their own four walls. Wyze has now granted it anyway: Over 13,000 users of the app suddenly had access to the manufacturer’s other cameras.
Wyze just admitted this in emails to its customers. The company said the error occurred after a service outage on Friday. After restarting the system, some customers would suddenly see feeds from cameras in your app that were actually assigned to other users’ accounts. But it wasn’t just the possibility of snooping: over 1,500 users actually used access to other people’s cameras, warns Wyze.
Wyze: Affected people report
“Someone was watching me,” reports one of those affected on Reddit. “I’m shocked. I’m a 23-year-old woman and I was getting ready for work during the outage.” The cameras are distributed throughout the apartment so that they can check on the pets, she reports. “I’m so disgusted and upset.” She has already deleted the account.
The fact that she knows exactly that she was being watched is due to the surprisingly transparent processing of the case: Because the internal data had to be used to determine exactly whose feed was shown to whom, the company sent not one, but four different emails to its customers to inform. First, the emails where others had actually used access to the camera. Then those whose feed was offered to others but not clicked on. A wave of emails followed for customers who could have had access to other feeds but were not affected themselves. And last but not least to those who had nothing to do with the problem.
Manufacturer sees blame on others
In the email, however, the manufacturer shifts the blame to others: the failure was caused by a problem with Amazon’s AWS cloud service, according to the emails. When they wanted to restart the system, a recently introduced third-party database gave way under the load – and sometimes assigned the user IDs to the wrong accounts. As soon as the error was discovered, all access was immediately switched off, Wyze assures. A newly implemented security query is intended to prevent similar problems in the future.
This is not particularly well received by customers for several reasons. On the one hand, the email contains an admission that the company did not meet its own standards, but the company does not accept responsibility. On the other hand, the company does not seem to be planning any compensation – on the contrary: there is not even an excuse for the loss of privacy. The assurance that something like this should not happen again also causes resentment. The simple reason: It’s not the first time. In the summer of 2022, hackers managed to bypass the security measures and gain access to the recordings stored on the cameras. Already in the fall there were first reports that users were accidentally viewing the feeds of other cameras. At the time, the company blamed a problem in the web view.
The feedback from customers was correspondingly negative when Wyze co-founder Dave Crosby tried to limit the damage on Reddit. “I don’t like it at all when a company tries to shift the blame onto third-party providers,” complained one user, with great agreement from the others. “Regardless of whether the error occurs at AWS or a third party: From the customer’s perspective, YOU are responsible.” Others see it that way too. “You should accept the problem as yours and work on your own solution. This is how you earn trust back. Because most of us have either already lost you as a customer, or are at least thinking about it.”
Sources: The Verge, Reddit