Anker Admits Eufy Security Cameras Are NOT End-to-End Encrypted All the Time

Teejay Boris, Tech Times 31 January 2023, 09:01 pm

Anker now finally admits that its Eufy security cameras are not at all end-to-end encrypted all the time, contrary to what they told their customers.

The tech firm now vows to do better and rectify the security issue that comes with its security cameras.

(Photo : TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
CCTV cameras operate by Houses of Parliament in London on August 16, 2019.

Anker Eufy Security Cameras

The Eufy cameras of Anker were in hot water late last year after a security consultant shed a light on some of the alarming security issues these surveillance devices hold.

As per a recent report by Mac Rumors, security consultant Paul Moore revealed last November that the security cameras of Eufy, which Anker owns, were apparently sending footage to the cloud.

Sure, some users might want to save the videos in the cloud. But the problem is that these security cameras continue to do so even if users have already opted to disable the option that allows cloud storage uploads, Moore discovered.

What makes it even worse is that media players, such as the staple ones like VLC, could stream these videos live.

Moore, who is also a hacker, said that the free media player could easily connect to the stream of the media players. And to do so, you will only have to get hold of the unique address that the cloud servers of Eufy use.

Anker Admits Eufy Security Cameras Are NOT Encrypted

After previously dismissing that VLC media players could stream live footage of Eufy security cameras, Anker now admits that their devices are not actually end-to-end encrypted all the time.

The Verge reports that Anker has now come clean, admitting that its Eufy security cameras produced unencrypted live streams for its web portal. And given this, anybody with a media player like VLC could access it.

(Photo : screenshot from Anker Eufy Indoor Cam 2K Pan and Tilt)
Anker's home security camera, the Eufy Inder Cam 2K Pan and Tilt

Anker further admitted that their Eufy cameras failed to offer native end-to-end encryption.

Mac Rumors notes in its report that Anker has been telling their customers that these Eufy cameras always offer end-to-end encryption. So if you want a security camera that features more privacy, buyers typically pick Eufy due to its claim.

Are Eufy Security Issues Now Fixed?

Anker says they have now fixed the security issue for their Eufy cameras that were discovered last year.

And as such, the tech firm now says that "the video streams can no longer be played on third-party media players such as VLC." It comes as it claims that video stream content has now been encrypted.

Furthermore, Anker says that "the eufy Security Web portal now prohibits users from entering debug mode, and the code has been hardened and obfuscated." It should be an added precaution to prevent prying eyes from streaming its video content.