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submitted 4 months ago by lemmee_in@lemm.ee to c/technology@lemmy.world

The Los Angeles Police Department has warned residents to be wary of thieves using technology to break into homes undetected. High-tech burglars have apparently knocked out their victims' wireless cameras and alarms in the Los Angeles Wilshire-area neighborhoods before getting away with swag bags full of valuables. An LAPD social media post highlights the Wi-Fi jammer-supported burglaries and provides a helpful checklist of precautions residents can take.

Criminals can easily find the hardware for Wi-Fi jamming online. It can also be cheap, with prices starting from $40. However, jammers are illegal to use in the U.S.

We have previously reported on Wi-Fi jammer-assisted burglaries in Edina, Minnesota. Criminals deployed Wi-Fi jammer(s) to ensure homeowners weren't alerted of intrusions and that incriminating video evidence wasn't available to investigators.

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[-] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 117 points 4 months ago

The thieves are jamming WiFi systems and the comments on the article and on Lemmy seem to blame the victim for not being tech savvy. The bulk of Nest/Ring customers do so because the app is easy to use and the cameras easy to setup. By definition the victims are far less likely to be able to defend against this kind of jamming attack.

If the next step in escalation is to shut down the power to the house, will the victim be blamed for not having home batteries and solar panels?

Why not question the viability of WiFi systems in general? Has video ever been more than a deterrent to those scared of cameras? Fearless thieves who know how to deter the systems get free loot for their trouble.

Treat security like we did before 2010; improve physical security to defend instead of relying on deterrence.

[-] Entropywins@lemmy.world 40 points 4 months ago

Yeah, it's not really a spike in burglaries so much as a spike in a specific tool being used in burglaries. Whether they use a brick, wifi jammer or a gun they were going to rob someone someway...

[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 20 points 4 months ago

Or a hoodie. I’m not sure why it’s a big g deal to WiFi jam a video doorbell when you can also defeat it with a hoodie …. Plus that’s not a burglar alarm.

Whoever is peddling anything as a burglar alarm that depends on WiFi is the real criminal

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[-] WhyFlip@lemmy.world 15 points 4 months ago

LAPD is recommending cutting back shrubbery and coordinating with neighbors for extended leave... As a Los Angeles native, neither of these things happen. After all, high walls make for good neighbors.

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[-] inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 79 points 4 months ago

While still hating this living dystopia, I do appreciate some of cyberpunk headlines we get.

[-] Fillicia@sh.itjust.works 52 points 4 months ago

That's one of the reason I went with a PoE camera. Just make sure your network is isolated so people can't connect to your internal network from the camera Ethernet cable.

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 17 points 4 months ago

Or vice versa, connect to your cameras from the rest of your network.

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[-] Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.works 51 points 4 months ago
[-] FrowingFostek@lemmy.world 12 points 4 months ago

Yes, he kicked down the Point Of Entry. Also, Power Over Ethernet is the best. It is known.

[-] fishbone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 4 months ago

And here I thought someone was just saying they like path of exile.

[-] Chakravanti@lemmy.ml 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Listen, it's a series of short horrific stories and you need to sit down to read about these absurdities that Edgar Allen Poe has to relate.

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[-] gimsy@feddit.it 41 points 4 months ago

If only there was a solution, I don't know, a cable resistent to jamming the ether, something we could call ether-jamming-resistant-network, in short Ethernet

I know... I am just dreaming :-P

[-] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 23 points 4 months ago

It's easy to write snarky comments like this, but the truth is running cables isn't easy, and in some cases simply not possible, at least if you don't want the cable simply draped over the outside of the house.

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[-] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

As a side business I consult and install security systems in small businesses and homes.

Literally none of them want the cable option, no matter how hard I push it.

The cost of running the cable and the time needed always is the dealbreaker.

Doesn't matter if its insecure, they just want it to work now and be cheap.

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[-] credo@lemmy.world 37 points 4 months ago

However, jammers are illegal to use in the U.S.

What is the point of adding this bit for an article about burglaries?

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 29 points 4 months ago

They should make burglaries illegal too!

[-] communism@lemmy.ml 9 points 4 months ago

Because jammers are not inherently burglary tools. It provides extra information about the technology in discussion.

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

They're extra illegal!!!

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[-] TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee 36 points 4 months ago

I wish that apps notified you when your camera has been unreachable for too long, but at least that's a hint that a jammer may have been involved. Cameras won't stop them, but a the best setups would rely on wires and hidden local and cloud storage for recordings and alerts.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

A numbers of cameras tell the user when they go offline, but yeah, a lot do not. I have a HomeKit system that sends an alert when WiFi or power has been interrupted to the camera or the primary hub.

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[-] thanks_shakey_snake@lemmy.ca 29 points 4 months ago

before getting away with swag bags full of valuables

So just look for the guy who looks like he's just been to four different network admin conferences?

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[-] FlashZordon@lemmy.world 28 points 4 months ago

Worked at an old job where one guy, that had access to the router settings, would disable the Blink Cameras so he could forge his time cards.

Owners ended up realizing the cameras would only be disabled when he was on shift.

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 9 points 4 months ago

I worked at Walmart ages ago and one of the overnight assistant managers would do this and then steal cash out of the cash office until he finally got caught.

[-] jabathekek@sopuli.xyz 22 points 4 months ago

That screen capture looks like the beginning of a rap video.

[-] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 21 points 4 months ago

i know nothing; would a hardwired connection from the cameras to the router solve this?

[-] kusivittula@sopuli.xyz 25 points 4 months ago

yes, assuming the cables are inaccessible from outside. otherwise it would be easy to cut them.

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[-] habitualTartare@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

Yes but the camera should be in a place that can't be physically tampered with easily since someone could theoretically unplug the camera and plug into your home network and see all your computers or other devices as if they had stolen your WiFi password. A small risk but it's better to hardwire it somewhere they would need a ladder to get to or get a camera system that connects to a central box inside the house.

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[-] teft@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago
[-] jpreston2005@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago

This is one of those things I thought would always remain firmly within the realm of science fiction. Watching movies and reading books growing up, movies like "The Matrix" and books like "Snow Crash" and "Neuromancer," I'd always be fascinated with high tech burglary. The idea that one could intercept communications, jam frequencies, or anything of the like, always just seemed a bit too out of reach for modern day criminals. And yet, here we are.

[-] Damage@slrpnk.net 22 points 4 months ago

A jammer is less sophisticated than a crowbar. It's not like the burglar designs it themselves. Nor are they hacking your network to gain access, they just shut everything down.

[-] thanks_shakey_snake@lemmy.ca 16 points 4 months ago

It's actually not that high-tech... Like jamming a wifi signal is basically like just shouting over someone to prevent them from speaking (or at least from being heard). To make one from scratch, you need a little bit of technical prowess, but it's definitely a beginner project... But to use one, you literally just turn it on, and maybe choose a frequency. They're widely available and cheap.

There are pretty cool sophisticated digital crimes out there though, so take heart!

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[-] xantoxis@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago

Sick, where do I get those jammers?

I'm not gonna rob anyone, I just don't want cameras working nearby me.

[-] ReveredOxygen@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 months ago

You do realize it stops wifi in general from working, not just the cameras

[-] TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee 10 points 4 months ago

It doesn't even stop the cameras, which would continue to record and save in their SD cards locally.

[-] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 months ago

Ones that have that feature. Some popular cheaper brands (e.g. Ring) the individual cameras can’t support SD cards but the base station can but they need wifi to be able to do that.

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[-] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

Physical locks, physical keys. We are collectively becoming too "smart" for our own good

[-] piecat@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

Physical locks and keys are also easy to bypass.

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[-] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 11 points 4 months ago

If a burglar is using a wifi-jammers then the basic consumer is not going to be able to stop said burglar. Basic consumer security products aren't designed to do anything more than keep honest people honest. It's much harder & more expensive to prevent a determined criminal from gaining entry and would likely require rethinking housing construction from the foundation up.

[-] Venator@lemmy.nz 10 points 3 months ago

Its also to help police with investigations. POE cameras and doorbells won't have this specific weakness, they'll probably still get in and steal all your valuables, but if they think thier wifi jammer is working you might get some footage thats useful for the cops...

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[-] Freefall@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

Something tells me that systems will just have a strong dummy wireless signal act as a tripwire and then it goes down, it triggers stuff...even super low end stuff could implement it.

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[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

In my big American metro area, the burglars usually mask up and roll in with swapped plates, a car they stole, or a car they got off a Kia boy for $100-$200. They’re tough to catch in the act or identify with video surveillance, even with a new hardwired or pre-WiFi hardwired system.

[-] pelletbucket@lemm.ee 9 points 4 months ago

back in the day, the trick was to cut the phone line, then shove the cut wire back in the phone box. wait for the police to come and see that there's nothing wrong, then you go and burgle.

[-] Crisps@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

They’d be starving after waiting for 3 days.

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

Easiest way to avoid this bullshit is to install wired cameras, and such a way that they are not easy to access/cut.

I know someones gonna come in and be all "BUHBUHBUT YOU CAN JUST DESTROY THE CAMERAS" and yeah, thats true.

but you cant destroy the camera from 3 blocks over, you have to get right up on them, and your face/vehicle/other helpful information may just well be caught and recorded before you do. Unlike wifi jamming, which could be done from streets away.

[-] PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee 11 points 4 months ago

Wireless cameras and "smart" doorbells shouldn't even be seen as security devices to begin with. They're for verifying your Amazon delivery and checking on the dog and nothing more.

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[-] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 4 months ago

All of my cameras are hard wired. It's going to take a lot of power to jam those.

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this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
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