How the FBI managed access Nancy Guthrie's Google Nest camera even though it was turned off
A major detail has led people to question their privacy
Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping has led many to question how private their data actually is, as the FBI has managed to recover footage of a suspect from her doorbell camera, despite it being supposedly disabled.
Many are becoming increasingly aware of how much surveillance there is in the modern world, as beyond the cameras that the government officially installs, an alarming number of people have their very own systems that record and upload data directly to the cloud.
This is due to the popularity of products like the Ring Doorbell and Google's Nest systems — the latter of which was used by 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie when she was kidnapped earlier this month.
Law enforcement are still searching for the mother of 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie, with currently no clear evidence that she's still alive beyond several ransom notes requesting significant Bitcoin payments in exchange for her return.
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However, a major new detail has been identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), as they have managed to recover footage from Guthrie's Google Nest doorbell camera that shows a suspect approaching and entering her house, obstructing the security gadget in the process.
Shared by FBI Director Kash Patel in a post on X, the images and video footage shows a masked individual approach her house, following power being completely disabled.
"Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie's home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors — including the removal of recording devices."
Patel notes that the recovered images and video footage were obtained "from residual data located in backend systems," and while this discovery could be key, it has led many to wonder how private their devices really are.
It shouldn't surprise you to find out that your data is never truly safe or secure if it's being uploaded and shared on the cloud, as while the convenience is certainly handy, it's far from private.
As reported by Tom's Guide, the situation in Guthrie's case is a little more complicated though, as she appeared to have a 2nd Generation Google Nest Doorbell, which is both wireless – so it didn't shut off when the house's power was cut – and it has a small amount of on-device storage.
Following the Wi-Fi connection cutting out at her home, the device then switched to local storage, with three hours of event-based data also captured without a Nest Aware subscription.
This footage was then stored within Google's servers despite being 'deleted' – as things don't actually get removed entirely straight away – allowing officials to recover it from the backend before it was overwritten.
It's a double-edged sword in this scenario, as while this could prove to be a vital piece of evidence that might lead to the arrest of Guthrie's kidnapper, it also displays the lack of privacy that you have when using these security devices in plain view, leading some to have a crisis of confidence.