The council warned that an unsecured baby monitor can become an “open door” for intruders to track movements, record conversations, and even speak directly to children
The UAE Cybersecurity Council has issued a stark warning to families, urging them to secure baby monitors and smart home devices against potential cyber-attacks. The council cautioned that while these devices are meant to provide safety, a failure to implement basic security measures could turn them into a serious vulnerability for private households.
In an awareness campaign reported by Emarat Al Youm, the council stressed that cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting weakly protected systems to gain unauthorised access. The warning comes amid growing fears that these digital tools, now commonplace in Emirati homes, could become a new front for online fraudsters.
The council warned that an unsecured baby monitor can become an “open door” for intruders to track movements, record conversations, and even speak directly to children. These hacks are often conducted with ease due to simple and avoidable security failures.
According to cybersecurity expert Abdelnour Sami, attackers primarily exploit two weak points: devices that are left completely unprotected by a password and those that still use factory default credentials. In such cases, he said, anyone in the world could gain access.
“Hackers even share lists of unsecured devices among themselves,” Sami explained. “A weak password makes access only a matter of time.”
Sami also highlighted the threat posed by counterfeit cameras. He noted that while branded devices may be more expensive, they are regularly patched with software updates that fix security flaws. Cheaper, uncertified knockoffs, however, often lack these crucial safeguards, making them far more vulnerable to breaches.
Fraudsters have also developed sophisticated social engineering tactics, sometimes posing as customer service representatives to trick users into granting them remote access to a device. Once inside, they can use the footage for blackmail or share it online. The council and Sami warned that the leaking of home camera feeds is no longer confined to the dark web; clips are now surfacing on public websites, multiplying the harm to families.
The warning is part of a broader effort to address the growing vulnerability of smart homes across the UAE. The council has previously noted that nearly 70 per cent of Internet of Things devices in households could be at risk if not properly secured, underscoring the scale of the challenge for families in the region.
