How to Hack Cellphone Camera

An avid intruder has a range of options available when wishing to spy on any given individual. Hacking a cellphone camera normally gives far greater access than just being able to spy on you using video alone. The same set of tools which grants access to your cellphone camera will also be attached to all your other personal information and online services. The login details of anything used on your device will be in the hands of your attacker.

Top remote access toolkits used to hack a cellphone camera will let your entire phone be compromised. It is literally as if the device is in the hands of another when infected by leading RATs (remote access toolkit or remote access trojan). Yet it doesn’t always take a robust application or technical toolset to give away access to your camera. A family member or ‘friend’ can install countless tools to remotely broadcast your camera.

Here we’ll be taking you through a complete look at just how vulnerable your device is. You’ll see exactly how to hack a cellphone camera.

RAT Hacking

A remote access toolkit allows access to a range of features. You get remote access toolkits which give basic connectivity and access only, and those which can perform advanced functions such as logging WhatsApp and Viber messages. Regardless of what RAT you look at, they all give access to your camera.

When an attacker hacks your cellphone camera they will either have the capabilities to stream a live video feed or capture still photos using the front or the back camera. The giveaway for most RAT camera hacks is that the light of the camera switches on momentarily as the photo is taken.

Direct hacks using tools such as the Metasploit Framework leave the option of disabling the light, given a bit of work of course. Most users lack the technical capabilities to work within scripting environments and rather resort to a pre-packaged toolkit. This comes with the risk of the RAT itself containing a RAT. There are very few things that are free and hacking tools typically come with hidden attachments. Compile it yourself or operate under a sandbox environment or virtual machine only if testing any remote access toolkits.

Mobile Surveillance Apps

Remote access toolkits and mobile surveillance apps are two-of-the-same with one parading under a guise of legality and responsibility. While many companies have a legitimate right to keep a track of employees with a poor work ethic, most ‘surveillance’ tools were birthed from black-hat origins.

Regardless of the morality, many mobile surveillance apps designed for parental or commercial purposes have a balance of ease-of-use and capabilities unlike anything else. All mobile monitoring apps will require physical access to the device at least once. The best tools will run silently as a service and are only detectable by manual inspection. Keep an eye on what is using your battery. Here are the top ten mobile surveillance apps currently used to spy on people:

• mSpy
• FlexiSpy
• SpyBubble
• TheTruthSpy
• Copy9
• MobiStealth
• MobileSpy
• PhoneSheriff
• iKeyMonitor
• XNSpy

Webcam Streaming Apps

In areas of the world where uncapped internet access is mainstream, webcam streaming apps become a major security risk. A complete newcomer to technology can download and install an app and configure it to record at a fixed schedule. Using either your own static IP address or a dynamic host such as No-IP, the camera streaming app feeds your video to a server broadcasting it online.

Technical attackers can even customize such applications for use on both webcams and cellphone cameras. Any tool which can be easily set up manually can be automated and hidden. Be careful of what you install and keep an eye on your data use for spikes. It can give away the massive video uploads of a hidden streaming tool or RAT.

Advanced Cellphone Hacking

One of the most commonly used tools for advanced cellphone hacking is Kali Linux and its embedded Metasploit Framework. The Metasploit Framework is a penetration testing toolkit which has a versatile and powerful remote access toolkit built-in. Other than Pupy RAT – the technical user’s tool of choice, there are countless other user-developed modules such as Parat for Python and TheFatRat exploiting tool.

One thing is for certain, almost every direct hack will require that the hacker will either social engineer you into installing something (perhaps through a link online) or they’ll need to be within range of your phone or Wi-Fi network. If you do feel paranoid enough to think that you have something someone wants to steal from you digitally, such as if you have a large crypto-cache of coins, then you’d best not share news of your wealth in the first place.

NFC exploits have proven so effective that a hacker with the right tech and code can gain complete control of your phone from within 100 meters, or 328 feet of you without needing to touch your device or interact with you. Goodbye social engineering. It isn’t likely that many people know how to pull of this feat, but it does show you just how vulnerable your phone can be.

Stop Cellphone Camera Hacking

Network security penetration is an art and passion for some and no security platform is infallible. Keep in mind that the biggest pitfall is gullibility. Exploits are there but you’re responsible of updating your software as it becomes available, and the update packages deployed. There is a very good reason that you’re notified to update Flash Player and Java in your browser and your Android or iOS via Wi-Fi. Always stay up-to-date with changing security practices.

Learn what a secure password is and reconfigure your accounts. Change your passwords regularly. Never install applications from anywhere other than official app stores and stay vigilant of phishing attempts. Personal information is not normally requested by any reputable online service provider. Confirm the URL of anywhere that you are directed to and if you really aren’t sure then contact the party via an official source from a different device.

As always, asking is better than falling foolishly for a phishing attempt. Attackers will anything that they can to get you to install the server software needed to hack your cellphone camera and steal your other sensitive information.