Strangers cams
Of course, hackers don't need Shodan to access unprotected webcams, or hack into poorly protected devices.
But when It comes cyberstalkers using information gathered this way for malicious purposes, such as extorting victims for money, Chuvakin believes such schemes are of extremely limited use.
"When you think about the real-world risks, you have to reach pretty far to find something that would be genuinely bad," said Anton Chuvakin, security and risk management researcher at Gartner.
He noted that while it may be possible to find the neighborhood in which a webcam is located, it is very unlikely that the Internet Protocol address could reveal an actual house.
I half-think some people could use this camera as a fallback vlogging tool.
Matt Rogers, Nest’s other co-founder, is quoted in today’s press release: "When designing Nest Cam IQ, we focused on what we’ve learned from our customers, which is that people don’t want more information, they want insights." Nest’s Cam IQ sales pitch is more about the IQ than the cam, which at the most superficial level will be manifested by its future integration with both Google Home and Amazon Alexa (though, no, it can’t function as a standalone Google Home or Amazon Echo speaker). Or perhaps you're into a specific street corner in Guangzhou China? Full access to over 1,000 webcams — Of course, tech-savvy spies have always been able to tap into unsecured webcams or hack into poorly protected devices, but the new feature on Shodan makes it easier than ever for anyone to browse a library of webcams that have not been password protected.Shodan's home page touts the service as "the search engine for power plants, refrigerators and webcams," among other things.But today the Alphabet-owned company is making a splashy return to prominence with a new "intelligent" indoor camera called the Nest Cam IQ.Bearing a similar shape and styling to Nest’s signature thermostat, the Cam IQ costs 9 (or 8 for a pair) and will begin shipping by the end of June.
