ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The webcam you use to keep an eye on the front door could be opening your home to intruders.
KMOX News has learned just how many could be vulnerable.
"It's very easy to find publicly available cameras," says Jonathan Tock, Director of Security Operations at Cyber Security firm SpearTip, "there are thousands just in the St. Louis area, just in Missouri."
In fact, Tock was able to find roughly 20,000 unsecure webcams in the St. Louis region that could be accessed at any time.
He says that could include things like baby monitors, nanny cams, and security cameras.
"The majority of these are available for anyone to access and get into with a quick Google search," Tock says.
Tock says anything connected to the internet could be breached unless you take the right steps to secure them.
That means first changing default passwords on those devices. Security experts also recommend creating complicated passwords for your home router as well as changing the admin credentials from the factory preset.