The personal data of millions of home security camera owners was just exposed online. Here's how to check if you were affected.
- The personal information of 2.4 million Wyze customers was left exposed on the internet for three weeks in December.
- The data leak was first uncovered by cybersecurity firm Twelve Security, and included people's usernames, emails, WiFi information, and health data.
- Wyze confirmed the data was left exposed and said it is working to notify affected users.
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The personal data of millions of people who own Wyze home security cameras was leaked online earlier this month, according to a report from cybersecurity firm Twelve Security, covered by CNET.
People's passwords and financial information weren't included in the leak, but other personal data - including email addresses, WiFi information, and health data - were left exposed.
Wyze cofounder Dongsheng Song confirmed the data was left exposed in a blog post. According to Shong, it was the result of a "mistake" made by a Wyze employee who was moving data from one server to another.
"We are still looking into this event to figure out why and how this happened," Shong wrote.
The data included some "body metrics" like height, weight, and gender for a subset of users, who were beta testing new Wyze scales. However, while Twelve Security reported that this information included bone density and daily protein intake, Shong denied that report and said Wyze doesn't collect that information.
Wyze has begun to notify affected users, who will be forced to reset their passwords. Customers are encouraged to enable two-factor authentication for their devices.
The mishap is the latest in a string of data exposures tied to home security cameras. Earlier this month, hackers accessed the passwords of thousands of Amazon Ring camera owners - however, unlike Wyze, Amazon has insisted that those passwords were stolen from a third party, and not Amazon's own systems.
