#BugAlert: Xiaomi security camera shows live feed from other homes
What's the story
When people install security cameras, they expect a solution to check in on their house and family, whenever needed.
That's the whole idea of owning a smart cam, but the thing is, some Xiaomi devices are not doing this.
They are going nuts (at least that's what it looks like) and showing creepy footage from other people's homes instead.
Here's all about it.
Issue
One user saw the footage from other homes. Really, what?
The footage-leak issue came into the light when a Reddit user (/u/Dio-V) asked his Google Nest Hub to pull up the feed from his Xiaomi Mijia connected security cams.
The person expected the live video from his home, but then, the display started showing creepy stills from other homes.
It came out broken and black-and-white, showing completely different people and locations.
Stills
Stills from the creepy feed shared on Reddit
To highlight the issue, the user shared the stills, which looked nothing short of a horror movie, on Reddit.
In one case, the stills showed someone's bedroom, while in another they showed an infant and a man sleeping on the couch of his living room.
Now, this leak also means that the user's own room footage might have appeared on someone else's Nest feed.
Root cause
Root cause of the issue remains unclear
From the looks of it, the problem appears to be a Xiaomi camera bug that is sending camera feed to the wrong Google Nest Hub.
The Chinese giant has not commented on the matter, but Google (which owns Nest) responded quickly and said that it is aware of the issue and is working with Xiaomi to issue a fix as soon as possible.
Integration disabled
For now, Google has disabled Xiaomi devices' integration
To keep any more personal home footages from leaking through this bug and investigate the matter, Google has disabled the integration between Google Assistant and Mi Home smart home products like light bulbs, cameras, and more.
To recall, this isn't the first security lapse for a security camera product; just recently, Amazon's Ring also drew widespread criticism for leaking personal email-passwords of its customers.