Last month I told you about a huge list of compromised credentials floating around the dark web for free. Researchers at the Hasso-Plattner Institute in Germany did some more digging. They are reporting an additional 25 billion credentials are included in that list. They estimate that 750 million of those are newly compromised credentials, not seen on the dark web before.

With all these credentials available for free for any delinquent to use as they wish, the chances that your username and password are no longer secure just went up exponentially. As a result we are seeing an increase in hacked security cameras, baby monitors and other smart home devices.

Up to this point, the hackers have simply terrorized home owners. However, one family near Chicago discovered that a hacked thermostat can be dangerous when their home was jacked up to 90 degrees. The family was alerted to something being amiss when they heard a deep voice coming from a security camera in their son’s room. It wasn’t until they went upstairs to investigate did they realize how dangerously warm the room was.

To protect your family:

1. Check security features before your buy. Look for default passwords that can be changed, firmware that can be updated and 2 step verification/authentication.
2. Change the default password on the device
3. Use strong effective passwords
4. Don’t reuse passwords
5. Enable two step verification/authentication when it is available