Place cameras behind a firewall and restrict access to trusted IP addresses only. If remote viewing is required, use a VPN rather than exposing the camera directly to the internet.
The exposure of these video feeds rarely stems from sophisticated hacking. Instead, it is almost always the result of a simple oversight: . inurl viewerframe mode motion updated
Using these search strings to find and access cameras that do not belong to you may violate privacy laws and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in the US or similar international regulations. To secure your own camera: Place cameras behind a firewall and restrict access
The string inurl:viewerframe?mode=motion is a search operator used to identify web-connected surveillance cameras—specifically, many Axis communications cameras—that are improperly exposed to the internet. Instead, it is almost always the result of
: A Google search operator that restricts results to URLs containing the specified text. viewerframe
: inurl:/viewerframe?mode=motion or inurl:/viewerframe?mode=refresh .
On significant historical dates, such as September 11, 2001 , people reportedly used these open webcams to get live, unfiltered views of major events when mainstream news outlets were jammed or overwhelmed.