LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Remembering different passwords can be challenging, but a good password can be what stands between you and someone hacking into your home.
One Searcy family thought their password was strong. Unbeknownst to them, a stranger spoke directly to their baby through their monitor.
Like so many families, the Stripling family used a Wi-Fi baby monitor to keep an eye on their child.
"For the last month, he has been waking up around 10:30 every night," Stephanie Stripling said. "We just never really thought anything of it."
But they never expected someone else was keeping an eye on their son too.
"[The camera] was at the corner pointing down at the bed," Stephanie Stripling said. "The same night I found [a stranger] whispering to [my son], it was pointing around the room and then back to him... They're saying, 'What is your name?'"
Stripling immediately unplugged the monitor, but later learned the problem was coming through their Wi-Fi router.
"I felt so violated," the Stripling family said. "We found tons of users previously signed in. I've blocked all of those. I have a list of them... a lot of foreign devices we never use."
Dean of the College of Natural Science and Mathematics at the University of Central Arkansas Stephen Addison said it's a common problem.
"I'm never surprised," Addison said. "Most people aren't aware of how vulnerable the systems are."
However, Addison said there are ways of building better protection.
"Keep it updated, change those passwords and don't allow remote access," Addison said. That's the biggest thing."
The Stripling family has since switched to an offline monitor and hopes other parents take a closer look at their systems.
"I want to burn it," Stephanie Stripling said. "We're not going to be using them whatsoever, and I can't resell it because I can't trust anyone."
If you think your camera has been hacked, Addison said families can always contact the police to help investigate.