'That’s a really poopy diaper'
The nanny to a one-year-old girl was going about her business Monday — changing diapers, playing with the baby – when she heard an unfamiliar voice come out of the family baby monitor. “That’s a really poopy diaper,” it said, apparently watching Ashley Stanley, the nanny, and little Samantha.
“I thought it was [Samantha’s] mom and dad playing a joke on me,” Ms Stanley told Houston news station KHOU 11. “I was kind of really freaked out like maybe someone hacked into the camera. He said something else like ‘you should probably password protect your camera,’” she explains.
Samantha’s parents were not pranking her, and the voice that came through the Foscam baby monitor was real. The monitor, which has wifi access for parents to check in on their kids from an iPhone or iPad or other devices, also had two-way audio.
Cameras with these capabilities are exceedingly easy for interested parties to hack, says Bryan Lagarde, security camera expert. “It doesn’t even take much know-how, and there are entire websites dedicated to posting video and audio from open cameras,” Mr Lagarde tells Yahoo Parenting.
There are precautions that parents can take to protect themselves against hackers. Most important is to create an indivualized password for the camera’s monitoring system. “If you are using a default password, you might as well not being using a password at all,” Mr Lagarde says. Once you’ve personalized your password, it’s much more difficult for someone to hack in, Mr Lagarde says.
When used correctly, Mr Lagarde says baby monitors can be great tools. “Speaking as a parent, I know they can be a wonderful help, especially with that first child,” he says. “You just have to be careful with it, realize its limitations, and don’t let it work against you.”
As for Ms Stanley and her uninvited guest, she told KHOU that she immediately unplugged the camera, but now she can’t help thinking who else might be looking in. “What pervert has been watching and not said anything? That is the kind of person that I am afraid of,” she said. “Like who has been watching silently.”
