SAN DIEGO — Residents in the Birdland neighborhood just west of Serra Mesa say their home security cameras have been hacked. CBS 8 reached out to a cybersecurity expert to find out how to prevent this from happening to you.
Lisa has lived in Birdland for nearly 20 years.
"I am very blessed to say I have amazing neighbors. We're all a little family here," she said.
Neighbors are staying extra vigilant. Two weeks ago Lisa saw a woman acting suspicious, looking into people's cars and scoping out their yards. She and her husband checked their doorbell camera.
"We saw the cars that I described going by before her and they saw me coming out of the house on the cameras going towards her but she was no where to be seen," Lisa said.
She reached out to her neighbor Mark who lives across the street.
"I saw the lady appear and my camera goes pretty far up the street. As soon as she got in direct view my camera didn't record her," Mark said.
When the woman returned the next day they say both their cameras glitched again. CBS 8 contacted a cybersecurity expert and learned Wi-Fi enabled cameras can be hacked if extra precautions aren't taken.
"Usually they go through the router you have in your home that can be accessed outside through the internet," said Marijus Briedes, a cybersecurity expert and CTO at NordVPN.
He says to put a password on your camera if possible and keep software up-to-date. It's also recommended to follow the latest wireless encryption protocols on your Wi-Fi and use a password of at least 12 letters with uppercase and symbols.
Birdland residents say they're following this advice and although they haven't captured the woman committing any crimes they plan to stay on high alert.
"We just all keep an eye out and protect each other's property as well as each other," Lisa said.
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