Canadian White Hat Hacker Contacts Phoenix Man Through Nest Camera to Warn About Security Lapses

While realtor Andy Gregg was in his North Phoenix, Arizona backyard at night, he heard a voice he didn’t recognize coming out from his Nest security camera. At first Gregg was a bit alarmed by the this random occurrence, but once the voice identified himself as a member of the anonymous Calgary Hivemind in Canada and had no ill-intentions, Gregg began asking questions.

The voice stated that he was a white-hat hacker, someone who looks for breaches and exploits them in order to teach people about preventative security measures such as two-factor authentication. The hacker also told Gregg that although he could not see anything in Gregg’s house, there may be hackers out there with the skills and intentions to do so. The hacker apologized for giving Gregg a scare and Gregg told the hacker that he appreciated the information.

Thanks. No honestly I appreciate you doing it. To be honest with you it’s a little bit of a wake-up call for sure.

Gregg told AZCentral that he heeded the advice given to him by the Canadian hacker by changing his passwords and unplugging the camera.

You basically feel very vulnerable. It feels like you’ve been robbed essentially and somebody’s in your house. They know when you’re there. They know when you’re leaving.

Gregg further stated that this was good information to pass on to his real estate clients.

…I have a ton of clients in real estate that use these things to watch their kids…But these hackers can go in there, and if they can watch your kids while they’re sleeping or changing, just think of what they can do with that.