The cofounder of Wyze, the home security camera company that accidentally exposed millions of people's data, says the incident was a 'wake-up call'
- Home security camera startup Wyze mistakenly exposed the personal data of millions of customers online in December, a cybersecurity watchdog reported this week.
- Wyze cofounder Dave Crosby told Business Insider the incident is a "wake-up call" that has led the company to reevaluate its security practices.
- The data exposure is the latest in a series of security incidents affecting home security camera owners.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
An employee of home security camera startup Wyze was carrying out some routine maintenance on December 4, moving the personal data of 2.4 million customers from one server to another. Three weeks later, Wyze realized that employee had mistakenly exposed the data online, making it available to anyone for multiple weeks.
The personal data did not include people's passwords or bank information, but their email addresses, WiFi information, and health data were exposed, according to cybersecurity firm Twelve Security, which uncovered the exposure.
According to Wyze cofounder Dave Crosby, the exposure has been a "wake-up call" for the company.
"If you know anything about us, our whole business model is built on customer trust. The only way this business works long term is if we build an incredible amount of trust with our customers," Crosby said in an interview with Business Insider on Monday.
Now, Wyze is reconsidering its security practices, both for employees and users. Crosby said all employees will receive more comprehensive security training, and users will be encouraged to change passwords frequently and enable two-factor authentication.
"Obviously we're devastated, and very, very sorry for this oversight. We'll definitely take corrective action," Crosby said. "We're doubling down on security."
The Wyze data exposure is the latest in a series of security incidents affecting owners of smart home cameras. Earlier this month, hackers accessed the passwords of thousands of Amazon Ring camera owners - however, Amazon has insisted that those passwords were stolen from a third party, and not Amazon's own systems.
