Ransomware Wyze Server

Garmin server got hit by ransomeware and out of commission.

In light of this, what would happen to our toy (not security as Wyze put it) camera if Wyze server get hit?

Will our cam continue to function? I know app will freeze at startup because no Wyze server.

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It depends how many of their user workstations run Windows and how many of those users have authorization to write to the (presumably Linux) servers in AWS. Also on how many non-technical users they have.

Edit: sorry I see youā€™re assuming the server is compromised

From what Iā€™ve been reading here lately, once the Wyze servers are compromised everybodyā€™s camera becomes useless, not even recording to SD after a short period of time. As you indicate, itā€™s all dependent on the app.

If you use the RTSP firmware (or 3rd party) then you have a much better chance of something working. Reportedly in the past some local operation was still possible with the native app without Internet but that no longer really applies.

It should continue to record to SD until a reboot is initiated.

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Are you sure? People have been saying it just stops. I donā€™t have first hand knowledge; my cameras barely ever record to SD normally.

Most companies have backups to fix that type of situation. You may lose server services for a day until the server can be brought back online.

I am positive, I have ran this test many times due to people claiming it stops. The longest I believe I have let it run is 18 hours before hooking back up. I did see a comment on the forum in the last day or two of someone who lost internet for 8 hours and it was all recorded to SD. As long as power is maintained it will record, once it loses and regains power it must ā€˜phone homeā€™.

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You sure about that? Garmin is a much bigger presence than Wyze and they have been down the better part of a week. I would be pleasantly surprised if Wyze has a DR strategy at all, let alone a way to quickly recover from malware encrypted (or otherwise hostaged) file systems.

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I will absolutely second this assertion! But not through voluntary testing!
:+1: :+1:

While I will never doubt that others have wildly different experiences (you have my sympathy @Customer!!) this feature has been the one cosmic redemption factor for me personally and Wyze cameras.

My current cross to bear is two remote sites with flaky internet feeds which work wonderfully until they randomly drop offline at widely varying and unpredictable times.

So far I have always been able to go back and review the continuous SD card recordings for the full downtime once I am able to get to the site.

The longest time I recall was somewhere between 24 and 48 hours, which occurred little over a week ago.

If Wyze cams ever lose this ability, there will be nothing but a trail of dust behind me as I head elsewhereā€¦

So, you are saying V2 will record 1 min clips when Wyze server is down.
User can only access clips only when Wyze is back on line. will cloud clips recording still be there or they will be all wiped out?

or,
unplug V2 and get sd card out. review filess in sd card in a painful tedious way.

Garmin server is only 60% up last I had checked Today.Lots still offline. It had 6 days since the attack.

The 1-minute clips to SD card will keep recording, you will not have any cloud clips for the period you have no internet. The cloud clips from prior to losing internet will still be there but you will not have any in the time it was down.

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Just an FYI, Last Friday morning at 0755, I drove away from my house - where my dashcam lost WiFi connectivity. I did not drive back into range until 2045 on Sunday evening - a time of 60 hours & 50 minutes if I did the math right. The camera recording continuously to the uSD card.

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That might be the longest confirmed recording to SD with no internet, I think my longest test was in the 18 hours or so. I know many people say it does not work but it has every time for me.

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This good info. I will test recording with no internet on the new firmware tomorrow. Ideally we should have a tool to periodically transfer all or specific range of video off of the SD CARD and concatenate it without having to remove the SD CARD.

I know my single media server can be back up in 24 hours.
Iā€™ve had a ransomware attack.

WYZE and Garmin can but have no idea if they do. They may not be back in 24 hours. Garmin is partially back.
WYZE servers should be redundant if they are using Amazon. Weā€™ll find out someday. :grin:

Iā€™ve long since learned that just having something in the AWS ā€œcloudā€" means absolutely nothing in terms of resiliency. You have to pay extra for it. At Wyze"s margins, again Iā€™d be pleasantly surprised to hear they have any recovery at all.

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@K6CCC uses a Wyze as a dashcam?

/EDIT

Not sure whether @K6CCC has a hotspot built into the truck or is running offline after the Wyze cam authenticates before leaving home?

Me too!

:crossed_fingers:

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I have used one of my Wyze V2 cameras as a dashcam in my pickup truck for several years. Itā€™s stated in the above post how I mount and power it, so I wonā€™t repeat it. All my cameras connect to my WiFi at home, so once I leave home, any camera that goes with me is standalone (normally just the dashcam).
The only exception is for the 4th of July for my professional fireworks show. I set up my iPhone to act as a WiFi hot spot with the same SSID and PW as my home WiFi because I take several of the cameras to the show to shoot video from several locations in the firing pits, and I need the cameras to connect so they can start recording. Once they are all set up, I normally turn off the hotspot mode on the iPhone as it is not needed (and leaving it on is a battery hog on the @#$% iPhone).

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Well if that doesnā€™t prove the stand alone ability of the Wyze cams, nothing will!
:boom: :slightly_smiling_face:

Oh yeahā€¦
:rage:

Thanks for all the details and solid example! Think Iā€™ll start getting more aggressive running my cams off the leash!
:grinning: