Xiaomi Cameras Connected to Google Nest Expose Video Feeds From Others

Jan 3, 2020

Internet-connected devices have been one of the most
remarkable developments that have happened to humankind in the last
decade. Although this development is a good thing, it also
stipulates a high security and privacy risk to personal
information.

In one such recent privacy mishap, smart IP cameras manufactured
by Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi found mistakenly sharing
surveillance footage of Xiaomi users with other random users
without any permission.

The issue appears to affect Xiaomi IP cameras only when streamed
through connected Google’s Nest Hub, which came into light when a
Reddit user
claimed that his Google Nest Hub is apparently pulling random feeds
from other users instead of his own Xiaomi Mijia cameras.

The Reddit user also shared some photos showing other people’s
homes, an older adult sleeping on a chair, and a baby sleeping in
its crib that appeared on his Nest Hub screen.

It appears the issue doesn’t reside in Google products; instead, it
could be a bug in the way Xiaomi implemented the connection between
its smart cameras and Nest Hub.

In a statement provided to Android Police,
Google said it is aware of the issue and is in contact with Xiaomi
to fix the problem, however, Xiaomi hasn’t yet responded.
^[2]

As a precaution, Google has also temporarily disabled Xiaomi
devices’ access to its Nest Hub and Assistant applications.

Though the bug doesn’t appear to affect all Xiaomi cameras
integrated with Google Nest Hub, users are still recommended to
unlink their cameras from Google Nest Hub until a patch
arrives.

^[1]

References

^{^}
Reddit user
(www.reddit.com)
^{^}
Android Police
(www.androidpolice.com)

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Xiaomi Cameras Connected to Google Nest Expose Video Feeds From Others

References

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