News

• Default passwords and outdated firmware are turning your home camera into a public livestream, report warns
• Thousands of exposed webcams are offering a front-row seat into private and corporate life
• A simple web browser is all it takes to peek into 40,000 unsecured camera feeds

Thousands of internet-connected webcams, intended to enhance safety and convenience, are now unintentionally offering a window into private lives and secure environments.

Research by Bitsight claims over 40,000 webcams around the world are publicly accessible online, often without their owners’ knowledge.

These include security cameras, baby monitors, office surveillance systems, and even devices inside hospitals and factories.

The investigation highlights just how easily accessible these cameras are.

“No passwords. No protections. Just out there,” wrote João Cruz, Principal Security Research Scientist at Bitsight TRACE, noting it requires neither elite hacking skills nor expensive software. In many cases, all it takes is a web browser and a valid IP address.

“We first raised the alarm in 2023, and based on this latest study, the situation hasn’t gotten any better.”

Exposed footage ranges from innocent scenes, like bird feeders, to far more sensitive views, such as home entry points, live feeds from living rooms, whiteboards in office spaces, and even operations inside data centers.

Worryingly, disturbing conversations have emerged on dark web forums, where some users share methods for locating exposed cameras, or even sell access to live feeds.

“This isn’t hypothetical: this is happening right now,” Cruz emphasized.

The United States leads with roughly 14,000 exposed cameras, followed by Japan, Austria, Czechia, and South Korea. These aren’t isolated incidents but part of a broader failure in how internet-connected cameras are deployed and managed.

Bitsight’s team scanned for both HTTP- and RTSP-based cameras, and the results suggest these figures may only scratch the surface.

Many of the exposed devices result from basic setup errors: default credentials, open internet access, and outdated firmware that leave systems vulnerable.

While vendors and manufacturers must improve device security, users also share responsibility.

Choosing products vetted for cybersecurity can help, but users should also pair their camera setups with tools like leading antivirus software and top-rated parental control solutions, which often include network monitoring to flag unusual access or unprotected devices.

Ultimately, private users should always check remote accessibility settings, change default passwords, update firmware regularly, and, especially for enterprises, enforce firewall protections and require VPN access.

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• Forescout report finds many vulnerable solar devices run outdated firmware with known exploits active in the wild
• Europe holds 76% of all exposed solar power devices, with Germany and Greece particularly at risk
• SolarView Compact exposure jumped 350% in two years, and it's already linked to cybercrime

The rapid growth of solar energy adoption worldwide has sparked renewed concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities within solar infrastructure.

A study by Forescout’s Vedere Labs found nearly 35,000 solar power devices, including inverters, data loggers, and gateways, are exposed to the internet, making them susceptible to exploitation.

These findings follow a previous report by Forescout which identified 46 vulnerabilities in solar power systems.

What’s particularly alarming now is that many of these devices remain unpatched, even as cyber threats grow more sophisticated.

Ironically, vendors with the highest number of exposed devices aren’t necessarily those with the largest global installations, suggesting issues such as poor default security configurations, insufficient user guidance, or unsafe manual settings.

Forescout found Europe accounts for a staggering 76% of all exposed devices, with Germany and Greece most affected.

While an internet-exposed solar system isn’t automatically vulnerable, it becomes a soft target for cybercriminals. For example, the SolarView Compact device experienced a 350% increase in online exposure over two years and was implicated in a 2024 cyber incident involving bank account theft in Japan.

Concerns around solar infrastructure deepened when Reuters reported rogue communication modules in Chinese-manufactured inverters.

Although not tied to a specific attack, the discovery prompted several governments to reevaluate the security of their energy systems.

According to Forescout, insecure configurations are common, and many devices still run outdated firmware versions. Some are known to have vulnerabilities currently under active exploitation.

Devices like the discontinued SMA Sunny WebBox still account for a significant share of exposed systems.

This is not just a matter of faulty products, it reflects a system-wide risk. While individually limited in impact, these internet-exposed devices may serve as entry points into critical infrastructure.

To mitigate risk, organizations should retire devices that cannot be patched and avoid exposing management interfaces to the internet.

For remote access, secure solutions such as VPNs, along with adherence to CISA and NIST guidelines, are essential.

Additionally, a layered approach using top-rated antivirus tools, endpoint protection solutions, and especially Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) architecture may be necessary to keep critical systems insulated from intrusion.

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• Gigabyte's AI TOP 500 TRX50 is a desktop built for AI developers working on massive LLMs
• Older Threadripper CPU included but motherboard supports newer upgrades
• GeForce RTX 5090 GPU paired with software for model tuning

Gigabyte has quietly launched the AI TOP 500 TRX50, a high-end system aimed at developers working on AI models and advanced multimodal tasks.

The machine is powered by AMD’s 24-core Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7965WX processor and cooled by an AORUS 360 AIO liquid cooler. This combination allows it to outperform Gigabyte’s previously announced Arrow Lake-S-based AI TOP 100 Z890.

Interestingly, as TechPowerUp reports, the AI TOP 500 still relies on AMD’s current-generation "Zen 4/Storm Peak" architecture, even with the Threadripper PRO 9000 series expected to launch in the near future.

Fortunately, Gigabyte’s TRX50 motherboard supports future upgrades, which could appeal to those planning longer-term builds. VideoCardz suggests that a version using the 32-core 7975WX might be released soon.

Like the AI TOP 100, the 500-series prebuild also includes Gigabyte’s own GeForce RTX 5090 Windforce graphics card.

Internally, the desktop (which bears a striking resemblance to the Cooler Master HAF 700) supports up to 768GB of DDR5 R-DIMM memory across eight slots.

Storage comes in the form of a 1TB AI TOP 100E cache SSD, built to endure heavy write cycles, and a 2TB AORUS Gen 4 SSD for primary use. Power is provided by a 1600W AI TOP Ultra Durable PSU rated at 80 Plus Platinum and compatible with ATX 3.1.

The AI TOP 500 offers a wide range of connectivity options. Up front, users get four USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, audio in and out jacks, and both power and reset buttons. On the rear are six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two USB4 40Gbps Type-C ports, dual RJ-45 LAN ports, a DisplayPort input, and two additional audio jacks.

The workstation also supports multi-node expansion through Thunderbolt 5 and Dual 10G LAN, making it a practical option for research labs or development teams.

The system is tightly integrated with Gigabyte’s AI TOP Utility software platform which helps users manage AI models, build datasets, and monitor hardware performance in real time.

With support for up to 405 billion parameter models, Gigabyte is targeting users who require serious local compute performance without relying on cloud resources…. And, gamers too, apparently, if its tagline of “Premium gaming & AI empowered desktop” is to be believed.

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Mattel is partnering with OpenAI to build AI‑powered toys, which might lead to some amazing fun, but also sounds like the premise for a million stories of things going wrong.

To be clear, I don't think AI is going to end the world. I've used ChatGPT in a million ways, including as an aide for activities as a parent. AI has helped me brainstorm bedtime stories and design coloring books, among other things. But that's me using it, not opening it up to direct interaction with children.

The official announcement is very optimistic, of course. Mattel says it’s bringing the “magic of AI” to playtime, promising age‑appropriate, safe, and creative experiences for kids. OpenAI says it’s thrilled to help power these toys with ChatGPT, and both companies seem intent on positioning this as a step forward for playtime and childhood development.

But I can’t help thinking of how ChatGPT conversations can spiral into bizarre conspiracy theories, except suddenly it's a Barbie doll talking to an eight-year-old. Or a GI Joe veering from positive messages about "knowing is half the battle," to pitching cryptocurrency mining because some six‑year‑old heard the word “blockchain” somewhere and thought it sounded like a cool weapon for the toy.

As you might have noted from the top image, the first thought I had was about the film Small Soldiers. The 1998 corny classic about an executive at a toy company deciding to save money by installing military-grade AI chips into action figures, leading to the toys staging guerrilla warfare in the suburbs? It was a satire, and not a bad one at that. But, as over-the-top as that outcome might be, it's hard not to see the glimmer of chaotic potential in installing generative AI in the toys children may spend a lot of time with.

I do get the appeal of AI in a toy, I do. Barbie could be more than just a doll you dress up, she could be a curious, clever conversationalist who can explain space missions or play pretend in a dozen different roles. Or you could have a Hot Wheels car commenting on the track you built for it. I can even picture AI in Uno as a deckpad that actually teaches younger kids strategy and sportsmanship.

But I think generative AI models like ChatGPT shouldn't be used by kids. They may be pared down for safety's sake, but at a certain point, that stops being AI and just becomes a fairly robust set of pre-planned responses without the flexibility of AI. That means avoiding the weirdness, hallucinations, and moments of unintended inappropriateness from AI that adults can brush off but kids might absorb.

Mattel has been at this a long time and knows what it is doing, in general, with its products. It's certainly not to their advantage to have their toys go even slightly haywire. The company said it will build safety and privacy into every AI interaction. They promise to focus on appropriate experiences. But “appropriate” is a very slippery word in AI, especially when it comes to language models trained on the internet.

ChatGPT isn’t a closed-loop system that was built for toys, though. It wasn’t designed specifically for young kids. And even when you train it with guidelines, filters, and special voice modules, it’s still built on a model that learns and imitates. There’s also the deeper question: what kind of relationship do we want kids to have with these toys?

There’s a big difference between playing with a doll and imagining conversations with it, and forming a bond with a toy that independently responds. I don’t expect a doll to go the full Chucky or M3gan, but when we blur the line between playmate and program, the outcomes can get hard to predict.

I use ChatGPT with my son in the same way I use scissors or glue – a tool for his entertainment that I control. I’m the gatekeeper, and AI built into a toy is hard to monitor that way. The doll talks. The car replies. The toy engages, and kids may not notice anything amiss because they don't have the experience.

If Barbie’s AI has a glitch, if GI Joe suddenly slips into dark military metaphors, if a Hot Wheels car randomly says something bizarre, a parent might not even know until it’s been said and absorbed. If we’re not comfortable letting these toys run unsupervised, they’re not ready.

It’s not about banning AI from childhood. It’s about knowing the difference between what’s helpful and what’s too risky. I want AI in the toy world to be very narrowly constrained, like how a TV show aimed at toddlers is carefully designed to be appropriate. Those shows won't (hardly ever) go off script, but AI's power is in writing its own script.

I might sound too harsh about this, and goodness knows there have been other tech toy scares. Furbies were creepy. Talking Elmo had glitches. Talking Barbies once had sexist lines about math being hard. All issues that could be resolved, except maybe the Furbies. I do think AI in toys has potential, but I'll be skeptical until I see how well Mattel and OpenAI navigate that narrow path between not really using AI and giving the AI too much freedom to be a bad virtual friend to give your child.

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