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submitted 1 month 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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[-] ThePantser@lemmy.world 204 points 1 month ago

Don't use wireless for security, PoE or CCTV

[-] Chozo@fedia.io 91 points 1 month ago

Those aren't always options for renters, hence why wifi security systems are so popular.

[-] TragicNotCute@lemmy.world 82 points 1 month ago

Even beyond renting, installing a wifi camera is SO much cheaper than running Ethernet all over your house. And if you need it run through an external wall? Even more money.

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

Not if you DIY. I just finished a project, not only wiring all rooms for Ethernet, but PoE for 10 exterior cameras.

You can get 500ft Cat 5e boxes off eBay for like ~$20, an extra long 1/2 inch drill bit (for punching through the exterior wall) was like another 20. Most expensive part was probably the metal conduit for the outside runs (I decided to only have 2 or 3 holes to the outside and run the cables in the conduit along the soffit to converge to one of 3 exterior holes for final routing within the house. That was probably 150-250)

All in all after estimating for secondary costs, like screws, brackets, sealant, a caulk gun, ceiling bracket for ceiling routing indoors etc this project was probably <400, pretty cheap as far as home improvement projects go

[-] hemmes@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

You can save on all that conduit with direct burial Ethernet.

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 2 points 1 month ago

Do you really need either when you're running the cable down the soffit where it'll never really get exposed to sun or rain?

[-] hemmes@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

No - I use some standard stuff in areas like that, when I'm able to come right out and under the soffit or siding. If I have to make a run, closer to the ground, with a brick facade, I'll use it. I won't go crazy actually trying to burry it when it stays near my house hidden by shrubs.

I have buried it for customers that require connections located in dislocated structures - trenches and filling by others though. 😅

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Good because I didn't use either and also tucked mine up in the soffit albeit with some short runs before they go into the attic. It is not something I'd like to revisit 😆

[-] ThePantser@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Not that expensive to do it yourself. Getting a fish tape and a cheaper Ethernet termination kit would set you back at most $50. Only other tools you need is a drill and most homeowners should already have that. And a really long bit is cheap at harbour freight.

[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Yup, cost isn't the issue, time and patience are. In order to run cables down my walls, I'd need to wade through 2-3 feet of insulation fluff in my attic while stepping only on roof cross-beams, all with only like 7 feet of space at the center (way less at the edges). The cable and tools will only cost $100-200, but the whole process is a giant pain to actually do.

[-] obinice@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Even beyond renting, installing a wifi camera is SO much cheaper than running Ethernet all over your house. And if you need it run through an external wall? Even more money.

A bit of plastic trunking, an ethernet cable, and a long masonry bit for your hammer drill to get through the brick wall, oh and a little sealant, not that expensive, I believe in you!

[-] TragicNotCute@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

I’m gonna fall through the ceiling :(

[-] zecg@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

That's not cute, it's tragic

[-] Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee 12 points 1 month ago

Lawful- Neutral renter reporting in:

  • Fresh paint and a lot of putty hide a lot of sins
  • Magic erasers ARE magic
  • Home improvement stores just like sell door trim, hardware, etc and they’ll color match paint
  • Most post-inspectors are looking for egregious issues or evidence of a bad fix/cleanup. That’s now your threshold for quality

I fixed an entire doorframe trim and drywall after the back door got kicked in - paint and putty are your friends

[-] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 60 points 1 month ago

Renters have virtually no choice here. I hate it when people state this like it's some damn easy thing for everyone to do.

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 16 points 1 month ago

The real answer is caching. Instead of writing video to the cloud live and losing all recordings during a wifi outage, it should just cash the last 30ish minutes in case of failure to connect to the cloud. Then once the connection is up again, it just uploads the cached video.

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My cameras are PoE going to an NVR but you can also slap SD cards in them to record locally. I'm sure there are some wireless options out there with this feature included. Unfortunately wireless cameras have another glaring flaw in that they only record on movement and I've heard of so many stories where they didn't catch any movement to start recording when something happened.

[-] FrederikNJS@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago

I have a few cheap cameras that can handle both WiFi and ethernet, they support an SD card, and they do continuous recording regardless of connection type.

[-] jagermo@feddit.org 5 points 1 month ago

There are some that have local storage in case wifi drops out.

[-] iamjackflack@lemm.ee 4 points 1 month ago

I beg to differ not with that attitude. In most situations you can non permanently get a camera out a window or door without harming anything / risking deposit loss. Only where you have no windows near exit points and a windowless door. But even then you can still atleast have something internal to catch a break in (wired streaming to web).

[-] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

Easy or not, wireless isn't secure.

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[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

There’s no OSFA solution. Yeah, it sucks if you’re renting and can’t run cat 6 everywhere. All the same, you can still run a hard wired cam to a NVR/NAS in at least one location inside, but then you face the same difficulty anyone else does of securing the storage from theft - or you can have it upload to a cloud as quickly as is practical so you get off-site storage images and alerts of the theft.

There’s a lot of opportunistic thefts near where I live. Honestly, the odds of actually catching a good image of the thieves’ faces are petty low. If they know enough to jam the wifi, they also probably know enough to hide their faces. The thieves in our area all wear hoodies and hide their faces somehow, so all you get is the alert that someone is there and an image of a hoodied individual.

[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Honestly, if I'm renting, I'll just get renter's insurance and not bother with doing any security.

As a homeowner, I'm going to do everything I can to avoid making a home insurance claim. As a renter, whatever, not my problem, the insurance can maybe sue the landlord for not securing things properly because it's their job, not mine, to keep things secure.

[-] aviation_hydrated@infosec.pub 0 points 1 month ago

The landlord might have an incentive to protect their investment

[-] Zorque@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago

Burglars stealing whole apartments over here.

[-] capital@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Can't have shit in Detroit.

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago

Honestly super easy. I have a pet cam that records locally to an SD card and is accessible via wifi. A jammer wouldn't stop the recording. Also like 30 bucks vs 50-100-200 bucks depending on which ring cam you get. Certainly not weatherized but good enough for internal monitoring.

[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Honestly super easy.

Would you go so far as to say it's barely an inconvenience?

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Wow wow wow. Wow.

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yes, if you have a $10M villa in LA where you store your priceless art collection invest in hard security. For the average person who just needs video for the insurance company for when some meth head steals their bike from the garage, it's a great solution.

[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Honestly, deadbolts and keeping the garage closed would get that meth head to go to the next house.

If you send a claim to the insurance company for a stolen bike or something, you're going to pay way more in house insurance than whatever the bike cost. The only time you should be making an insurance claim is for a massive loss, like a fire, flood, etc. The video evidence should instead go to the police so they can track the perp down and maybe recover your stuff.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

IMHO, it comes down to your risk, what will make you feel comfortable, and how much money you want to spend. Pulling Ethernet through the walls and patching drywall might not be something you care to do if risk is low.

Also, if someone really wants to not be on camera, they’ll wear a mask, turn the power off at the main panel, etc. That said, there are cameras that can run on battery and store footage locally when they can’t phone home to wherever they deposit video files.

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[-] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Most people these days have either a ring doorbell camera or nothing. A very few people have real security cameras hardwired, and even fewer of those have more than 1 camera.

Also, about 1/4 of the ring doorbell cams need their batteries replaced.

PoE/CCTV is def the better option, but youre gonna be hard pressed to get regular folks to make the switch unless this type of burglary becomes endemic.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Yep. We have a mix of wifi/hard wired PoE. If you can handle crawling around in the attic or wherever, PoE is the easiest and best option. No need to run wiring to any sort of electrical box to power 110v for cams. Wireless is super-easy, but usually you have to pay for cloud services on top of that. Home hard wired with an NVR or NAS is the way to go.

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this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
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