Security cameras that rely on Wi-Fi are vulnerable to burglars. That’s the “well, duh” warning from the po-po in the posh part of Edina, Minn., where scrotes tote jamming kit.

A spate of break-ins at upmarket properties is causing concern at the local police department. In today’s SB Blogwatch, we can hear the sharp elbowed squeaky wheels from here.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Oh my.

“Install security cameras”
Police in Edina are investigating nine home break-ins which they believe may all be connected. Burglars took jewelry, locked safes, expensive handbags and other high-end products. [It] points to a sophisticated group that targets people when they’re not home, according to Lt. David Venne with Edina police.
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Police urge residents to install security cameras, alarms and motion sensor lighting. … In a letter to residents, the city of Edina is telling neighbors to install security alarms and cameras. … Residents are also encouraged to register their home security cameras with the city’s SafeCam program.

“Hardline”
Edina … residents say they were told the burglars are possibly using tools to temporarily disable security systems. … They were warned about the burglars using WiFi jammers that impact security systems, especially surveillance cameras.
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The jammers can be bought online from suppliers outside of the United States and range from $40 to $1,000. The Federal Communications Commission bans the use of them in the United States. … “Consider using a hardline camera inside your home,” [said] cyber security expert Mark Lanterman.

This has always been a concern I’ve had around WiFi anything in security systems. Sure, they’re great for easy installing in an existing structure, but between jamming and battery replacement, I’ve just never been a fan. I’m also old and don’t trust anything, so that just adds to it.

I imagine wireless is used because it’s a less-expensive retrofit in existing buildings — there are existing power outlets everywhere, so much less labor involved to tap into a nearby power circuit than install a whole wired network.
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[But] how come these cameras don’t have a 256 GB SD card, or some other backup storage tech that data can be buffered to while network is down, and simply buffer saved video locally?

Lots of cameras can do local recording to a SD card, either instead of or in addition to centralized recording on a server. IMO, this is the way to go, in case they manage to find your recorder or knock out the internet.
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That said, thieves usually seem to cover up, these days, so I guess the main benefit of cameras is just that initial alert of a break-in.

I have two sets of security cameras in my house. Both old and new cameras use wifi but the new one also has onboard memory card. Not a problem when the router is down—it will still record. I put both of them working in opposite sides so they both record what’s going on from the two directions.
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Now we’ve already got solar or battery powered surveillance cameras which could record to memory card for days without a charge. That combined with a separate hardwired surveillance camera will give you better protection than the average joe.

My only concern is that gen AI will mean that nobody will ever trust video evidence again. I hope we get some kind of signature based crypto verification on recordings to prove they aren’t fake. Like every device is keyed to authenticate the recordings it produces.

Angry rich folks and out-of-pocket insurance companies equals action.

Average people getting mugged? Not so much: … Good luck prying the cops out of the local doughnut shop.

No system is foolproof. Just have to make it more difficult than the neighbors.

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