An ethical hacker has revealed how anyone can watch your private cameras in an extremely unsettling video.
Ryan Montgomery is a professional cybersecurity specialist and an ethical hacker known for exposing online predators.
Sharing his knowledge on social media, Montgomery helps people to become more aware of the tricks hackers use to gain access to sensitive information.
Previously speaking on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast, he explained what goes on in the dark web.
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Montgomery said: “The dark web itself isn't a marketplace, the black market or whatever you want to call it.”
He added: “There’s counterfeit money, there’s fake IDs. There are all kinds of different websites that do horrible things.”
Now, the ethical hacker is lifting the lid on how people are able to hack into your private cameras and view its users without their knowledge.
In a video, Montgomery detailed a Reddit thread which highlights ‘controllable webcams’ that are open to the public.
Looking further into it, the hacker said: “I saw that there were communities on Discord that have over 2,000 users, 200 of which were active today.
“My suggestion to you is to Google the model of your cameras in your house and make sure they’re not exposed to the internet publicly. Stay safe.”
Many people took to social media to share their own reaction to the video, with one user writing on X, formerly Twitter: “yikes, the thought of someone watching me is unsettling.”
Another said: “Ryan Montgomery's warning is crucial. These communities he mentioned exploit basic negligence. Changing default settings is a vital first step everyone should take to protect their personal spaces from such invasions.”
A third person commented: “A friend of mine had someone on their v cam scaring their baby in the night, took them weeks to realise until they heard it. Crazy f***ers out there.”
And a fourth added: “This has been going around for years now why do people still not secure their devices. It's just ignorant at this point.”
In his previous chat with Shawn Ryan, the cybersecurity expert revealed that he has sometimes needed to go into the dark web when trying to track down ‘predators and pedophiles’, but it often doesn't come to that.
He added: “A lot of time it doesn't need to go that far, a lot of the time these guys will use their regular emails or IP address that's been reused for multiple emails, or their face that they've been using as their profile picture, or a phone number that traces right back to them.”