Students hack security camera in a snap

Months of work and experimentation paid off for student security researchers Mitchell Zakocs and Justin Miller when they successfully hacked a Wyze security camera in one minute and 44 seconds at Pwn2Own, held October 2023 in Toronto. As the only student team at the event, the pair represented CTF’s research lab, led by Director Adam Doupé. The rapid hack secured the lab a $6,750 cash prize.

“We find and report these zero-day vulnerabilities to the vendors so they can patch the vulnerability, as otherwise they can be discovered and used by bad actors — which is especially dangerous in something like a home surveillance camera,” said Zakocs.

Held twice a year, Pwn2Own is a security conference and hacking contest that highlights the vulnerability of widely used devices and software. Simply by scanning a QR code and restarting the device, Zakocs and Miller were able to hack the camera and play music through it, demonstrating the vulnerability of such consumer products.