My connection has been hacked.....

[SuperSuze]

Hello all

I've been aware for some time that my mobile phone and wifi-run security camera have been hacked and I'm looking for some advice.

I use the internet through a contract unlimited data SIM card package, which I pay for monthly (Vodafone). To run the camera I create a wifi hotspot in my flat through Bluetooth. This was set-up because my property was not eligible for broadband services.

The reasons I believe I have been hacked are as follows:

Applications start up and run for no reason (even when I'm actively using my smartphone).

The inbuilt phone radio gets turned off when I'm listening to it and the volume keys are manipulated even if I haven't touched them.

Emails have been deleted/moved to my spam folder (not by myself).

Videos have been deleted on my Canary Security wifi-fun camera. 

My camera has been showing an "untrusted connection" alert often.

[hrym]

The most likely point of entry would be the camera.   Connected devices often have poor or no security and certainly no kind of firewall.   The first thing to do would be to make sure that you've changed its admin login - defaults are easy to find on the internet.

Next, check the phone.   Start by disconnecting from the camera - it is has a reset option, do that.   It's good that you're not using wifi as mobile connections are broadly secure (they can probably only be hacked by state actors).   Does the behaviour persist?   It's possible that the issue is caused by the fact of the connection rather than anything else.   Try installing an anti-virus app and see if that spots any malware.   It is does, clean it (obviously).   If not, reconnect the reset the secured camera and see what happens.

If the problem persists, you may need to factory reset the phone.   Malware can hide from AV programs, but generally won't survive a reset.  Now try the setup again.   If it still happens, disconnect and see if it goes away - in that case, I'd be even more suspicious of the connection itself.  What you're describing sounds more like anomalous behaviour rather than malicious action, tbh - if I was attacking you, I wouldn't advertise the fact, but rather hide and see what information I could glean, such as banking details.

[SuperSuze]

Thanks for the wonderful reply, hrym. I have security apps like AVG running and I've been trying to avoid a full factory reset, but it might be worth it.

The camera's manufacturer claim to have state-of-the-art protection and security encoding in place, but it's difficult to judge the true efficacy of this, especially with Bluetooth. If I connect a new camera, I might just have exactly the same problems.

I forgot to mention that phone calls have also become suspicious. When I'm speaking on the phone there is often distortion and echoing of my voice (sometimes audible to the person receiving my calls). Or the calls won't be audible whatsoever or its impossible to hear the person on the other end and vice versa, like somebody is messing with the line itself to prevent calls being made.

I do believe I am purposefully being targeted and have good reasons. The people involved work professionally in security systems too.

[hrym]

Glad to be of help.  I specifically didn't suggest an alternative camera as it's impossible to know which one would solve the problem (assuming it did).   I'd certainly start by disconnecting the camera - you could just turn off Bluetooth as that would tend to rule out my suggestion of issues caused by the connection itself.   However, the camera is undoubtedly the weak link and, if malware is present, would be the way in.  I'm not aware of any hacks of mobile connections outside very sophisticated actors and, even then, it's usually done via something else - a bad app or website, for instance.  I wouldn't want to suggest you haven't been hacked, but the harder it is to to, the more determined the hacker has to be - you have to be a worthwhile target.

Although it's a pain, I do think a factory reset of the phone might be worthwhile as it should clear anything bad that's there.   Don't reconnect the camera, but do run a full scan before doing anything else and give the device time to behave or misbehave.   If it's OK, reconnect the camera and see what happens.   A little voice in the back of my head is muttering "VPN", but I'm not sure that would help over Bluetooth.  AFAIK, the BT connection itself is secure.

I'll repeat that I'm sure you've changed the admin login on the camera from the default, and you could also delete and re-make the pairing.   If the camera has a reset option, it would be worth doing that as any hack would probably need to be re-established and you should have a period of stability before that happens.   If you suspect manipulation of your email, changing the passowrd for that would be a priority too as would setting up two-factor authentication.

[voda89]

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