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By SecureWorld News Team
Mon | Apr 8, 2019 | 8:41 AM PDT

Andrew Young has worked in cybersecurity for nearly 20 years now.

He and his wife and their kids were on vacation in Ireland when Young made an unsettling discovery at the Airbnb they were in.

A hidden camera was live-streaming their every move from the rental.

It was a camera they could not see.

IT security, even on vacation 

We're honestly not sure whether Young is the always suspicious InfoSec type or is simply curious about network security, even while on vacation. 

But we do know one thing.

After settling into the Airbnb rental, Young fired up his laptop on vacation to scan the Wi-Fi network for anything unusual. That is when he discovered what was going on.

CNN reports:

The scan unearthed a camera, and subsequently a live feed. From the angle of the video, the family tracked down the camera, concealed in what appeared to be a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector.

The article goes on to detail a protracted battle with Airbnb to get their money back and to get Airbnb to treat this as a serious issue.

His wife Nealie summed it up like this:

"We think people need to realize that the travel market is largely unregulated and if you would take issue with being filmed, then you need to take all steps properly."

And taking proper steps for InfoSec pro Andrew Young means scanning networks, even on vacation. 

Perhaps that's an occupational hazard for Young, who currently manages audit and assurance for a bank and previously worked for companies such as British Airways, Barclays, and EY in cybersecurity roles.

It definitely leads us to the question asked in the headline: Is this what you do when you travel?

Or have you done other things to check for gaps in privacy or security while you are on the road?

Please share your best ideas so we can pass them along.

[RELATED: No need to travel to a cybersecurity conference: find your regional SecureWorld gathering in North America]

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