Do you know a company called Shenzhen Neo Electronic? It is a chinese tech manufacturer who produces, among other things, Internet cameras that can be installed in a varity of household items. Now imagine yourself buying their webcam and installing it in your child’s teddy bear, so you can keep an eye on her/him even when away from home. After some time you find out something disturbing on the Internet. You continue to dig into the topic… and eventually learn that your teddy bear camera was hacked so that some pervert can leer over your kid. Brr… Well, according to one Alex Balan, employee of Romanian company Bitdefender, such a scenario is all too possible if you are using Shenzhen Neo Electronic webcam. According to Mr Balan, that company’s items’ software has a large number of holes in it that allows any hacker with half a brain to hack it. Balan reportedly tried to contact Shenzhen Neo Electronic about the issue but, after being denied any kind of answer, decided to bring the story to the media.
Hopefully, Shenzen Neo will be heavily fined and a police investigation will occur, hurting the company’s reputation and finances and thus teaching other companies to be mindful of their cybersecurity. It is possible, though, that Shezen Neo is in cahoots with a chinese ”Human-Rights-What-Is-That” government, working for it to allow it to invigilate its citizens even further. Science-fiction or sad reality? You decide.