Can baby monitors be hacked? Yes. Here's how to stop it

Updated October 18, 2026.

Have baby monitors really been hacked?

Yes. A few well-documented cases show the pattern.

• Ring, December 2019. Days after a Mississippi family installed a Ring camera in their 8-year-old's bedroom, a stranger used it to talk to her. Ring said its own systems weren't breached.¹
• Nest, January 2019. A California family heard a fake missile alert through their Nest camera. Google said two-step verification would have prevented it.²
• Wyze, February 2024. A glitch sent about 13,000 Wyze customers thumbnails from other people's cameras.³
• eufy, January 2025. New York's Attorney General secured $450,000 after finding some eufy video streams were unencrypted and viewable without a login.⁴

Researchers have flagged baby monitors for years. In 2015, Rapid7 tested nine and gave eight an F, citing hidden passwords and unencrypted video.⁶ In 2020, Bitdefender found flaws in the iBaby M6S that could expose stored video.⁷ The FTC's first case on an everyday connected product, in 2013, involved TRENDnet cameras whose feeds of sleeping babies were exposed online.⁸

How do hackers get into baby monitors?

Very few cases involve someone breaking through a home router. They fall into three groups:

1. Account takeover. Someone logs in to the camera's cloud account with a password leaked from another site.
2. Flaws in the device or the maker's cloud. Hard-coded passwords, unencrypted streams or a server mistake. Choose brands that patch quickly.
3. A weak home network. Default router passwords, a Wi-Fi password dozens of people know, and every device on one flat network.

Seven steps to protect your baby monitor

1. Use a unique password for the camera app. Never reuse one from another site.
2. Turn on two-step login. It would have stopped many of the takeovers above.
3. Update the camera and the app. Turn on automatic updates if offered.
4. Go local-only if you don't need remote viewing. A monitor that talks only to its parent unit has no cloud account to steal.
5. Buy from makers with a clear update policy. The UK now bans guessable default passwords,⁹ and the US Cyber Trust Mark label is still being set up.¹⁰
6. Put cameras on their own network. The FBI advises isolating connected devices,¹¹ and CISA suggests guest Wi-Fi for gadgets that only need the internet.¹²
7. Know what's connected. Check your router's device list and remove anything you don't recognize.

Why separation matters is covered in should smart home devices be on a separate network? As kids grow, see how to set up safe Wi-Fi for kids.

What a router can and can't do

Be wary of anyone who says a product makes a camera impossible to hack. A router can't protect a camera's cloud account or fix flaws in the camera itself.

What a good router can do is the network part: keep cameras apart from your family's devices, and stop unknown devices from quietly joining.

Where Rio fits: Rio puts cameras and baby monitors in their own SecureRoom, walled off from your phones and laptops by default, and every new device waits for your approval. Pair it with steps 1 to 3 and you've covered both sides. See Rio for parents.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone hack my baby monitor from outside my house?

Yes, if the monitor connects to the internet. Most real cases involved someone logging in to the camera's cloud account with a reused or leaked password, which works from anywhere. Monitors that only talk to their own parent unit, without Wi-Fi, are much harder to reach remotely.

How do I know if my baby monitor has been hacked?

Warning signs include voices you didn't make, the camera moving on its own, changed settings or passwords, and unfamiliar logins or new-device alerts in the app. If you see any of these, change the password, turn on two-step login and update the camera and app.

Can a baby monitor be hacked if it's not on Wi-Fi?

It's far less likely. A monitor that isn't on Wi-Fi removes the biggest risk, which is a cloud account someone can log in to from anywhere. Older analog monitors can be overheard nearby on the same radio frequency, so choose a digital one. The trade-off is that you can't check in from your phone when you're away from home. For parents who only watch from another room, that's often an easy swap.

Does a separate network really help?

It limits the damage if a camera is ever compromised, because a weak gadget can't reach your computers and phones. The FBI has recommended isolating connected devices for years. It doesn't protect the camera's cloud account, so you still need a unique password and two-step login.

Sources

1. NBC News, Man hacks Ring camera in 8-year-old girl's bedroom, December 2019. nbcnews.com
2. CBS San Francisco, Nest security camera false alarm in Orinda, January 2019. cbsnews.com
3. CBS News, Wyze camera breach let 13,000 customers peek into other homes, February 20, 2024. cbsnews.com
4. New York State Attorney General, Attorney General James secures $450,000 from companies selling home security cameras, January 28, 2025. ag.ny.gov
5. Federal Trade Commission, FTC says Ring employees illegally surveilled customers, failed to stop hackers from taking control of users' cameras, May 31, 2023. ftc.gov
6. Rapid7, FAQ on baby monitor vulnerability disclosure, September 2015. rapid7.com (PDF)
7. Bitdefender Labs, Severe vulnerability in iBaby Monitor M6S camera, February 26, 2020. bitdefender.com
8. Federal Trade Commission, Marketer of internet-connected home security video cameras settles FTC charges, September 4, 2013. ftc.gov
9. UK Government, New laws to protect consumers from cyber criminals come into force in the UK, April 29, 2024. gov.uk
10. Federal Communications Commission, FCC selects new Lead Administrator for U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program, April 13, 2026. fcc.gov (PDF)
11. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, PSA I-091015-PSA, Internet of Things poses opportunities for cyber crime, September 10, 2015. ic3.gov (PDF)
12. CISA, Project Upskill, Module 5. cisa.gov