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Home security is coming down from the clouds. Eufy, the home security brand owned by China-based electronics company Anker, is releasing a new line of standalone home security cameras that don't require a central hub or cloud storage account.
What’s different? Eufy’s previous models used Bluetooth connections to send footage to a central hub. The new SoloCams still need a wi-fi connection to access the Eufy Security app, but they are independently managed and won’t transmit footage over the airwaves.
- Local storage is generally perceived as more secure than cloud storage...provided no one steals the camera outright.
- The SoloCam line can store up to 8GB (~2 months of video).
In May, a botched server update led to a significant security breach for Eufy. Just over 700 (0.001%) of its camera owners had full access to strangers’ live feeds, contact details, saved videos, and more.
Big picture: Jessica Lee, co-chair of privacy, security, and data innovations at Loeb & Loeb law firm, told us local storage carries its own issues. For one, you lose some remote capabilities (emergency service reporting, remote monitoring). And even if it’s a safer setup, risks still exist.
“You can put passwords and pins and you can have remote wiping and different protocols in place to make it harder, but I don’t think there is any failsafe way to say, ‘Your data will never be breached, there will never be an incident,’” Lee said.—JM