Two Screw Ups In 5 Months Give Unauthorized Access To Wyze ‘Smart’ Cameras

Much like the phrase smart technology," the word security" just doesn't mean what it used to.

Case in point: last September, owners of Wyze smart home security cameras" were informed at the company's forums that the company had crossed some wires in the backend," resulting in a glitch that allowed 2,300 users to see the camera feeds of about 10 users via the company's online web portal. The company was quick to apologize:

Security is a core focus for us here at Wyze. We have built a dedicated security team and continually invest millions of dollars into security to keep our customers safe."

Fast forward to last Friday, when another, even bigger glitch resulted in 13,000 unauthorized customers having access to images and video from Wyze cameras that didn't belong to them. According to Wyze, the problem was caused by the botched integration of a third-party caching client library". In an email, Wyze apologized, again:

We know this is very disappointing news. It does not reflect our commitment to protect customers or mirror the other investments and actions we have taken in recent years to make security a top priority at Wyze."

Needless to say, folks who purchased Wyze cameras under the promise they were smart" and secure" aren't pleased with having their privacy violated twice in a five-month span.

Of course, Wyze's issues go back even further; in In 2022, security firm BitdefenderdiscoveredWyze camera security vulnerabilities that - you guessed it - allowed unauthorized access to Wyze cameras. Wyze ultimately had to settle a class action for not making the problem clear to users for years.

It's another cautionary tale about having too many internet-connected gadgets in the home given that, despite what smart" security" focused companies say, privacy and security often take a back seat to product marketing.