Google has prevented the Chinese supplier, Xiaomi, from working with some of their devices after a customer complained that he was able to watch video clips of other people’s homes by surveillance cameras, as Xiaomi home security cameras suffer from a loophole that allows the withdrawal of static images from other customers ’cameras using the smart screen device Google Nest Hub.

The problem arose when a Reddit user posted video footage and photos of what happens when his Google Nest Hub device is connected to the Xiaomi Mi Home Security camera, as the Google device displays black and white static images apparently taken from other Xiaomi home security cameras connected to the Internet.

Although the images are not completely clear, they still partially reveal what is going on inside people’s homes, as one of the photos showed a child lying in bed and an elderly man sleeping on a chair, and the problem caused Google to quickly stop integration with Xiaomi cameras.

A Google spokesperson said: We are aware of this problem and are in contact with Xiaomi to work to solve it, and in the meantime we have disabled the integration of Xiaomi on our devices, while the Chinese company blamed the problem on an update I put on December 26, 2019 to update the cache in order to improve the quality Camera broadcast.

The Chinese company said: The defect occurs in very rare circumstances when the Google Nest Hub works under bad network conditions, without any company explaining the problem, but Shawty’s statement indicates that its security cameras take videos and photos and store them in the device’s cache when the Internet is Slow, but for some reason, those images are leaking on Google’s cloud.

“We found that there are 1,044 users with such integration and only a few of them may be affected by very poor network conditions, and this problem will not happen if the camera is linked to the Xiaomi Mi Home app, and we apologize for any inconvenience this bug might cause our users,” the Chinese seller added.

The incident highlights ongoing concerns about the security of internet-connected cameras, which were in the past used by hackers to enter people’s homes, as Nest cameras sold by Google in the past have been hacked and used to send audio files, including threats to homeowners.

Also, in November, it was reported that there was a defect in the door bells sold by the Amazon company, Ring, and the defect allowed hackers to obtain private photos and videos, and even access to smart home devices that operate on wireless networks of customers.

Source : Reddit