Hacked video of sleeping Aussie babies appears on Russian website

Live footage of Australian babies sleeping in their cots has appeared on a Russian website after being targeted by hackers.

An investigation by the British privacy watchdog found hackers targeted live feeds from thousands of homes around the world and uploaded footage to website, 'Online IP net surveillance cameras of the world', Fairfax Media reports.

Footage of Australians in their bedrooms and babies sleeping appears on the site, with many showing people in their most "intimate and private moments".

The British Information Commissioner's Office (BICO) called on Russian authorities to shut down the website and warned it was planning "regulatory action".

"The website accesses the information by using the default login credentials, which are freely available online, for thousands of cameras," said BICO group manager for technology Simon Rice.

"This is a threat that all of us need to be aware of and be taking action to protect against."

Mr Rice warned those who use their webcams remotely to monitor their children and property were particularly vulnerable.

"As a last resort, you can always cover the lens if you don't want to use the camera all of the time," he said.

Source: Fairfax Media