Ubiquiti, a vendor of routers, security gateways, wireless network solutions, video recorders, cameras, access control systems, and other cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) products, is urging its customers to change their Ubiquiti account password and enable 2FA (two-factor authentication) after a recent security incident. According to the company, “an incident at a third-party cloud provider may have exposed customer account information and credentials used to remotely manage Ubiquiti gear.”
You can read Ubiquiti’s official statement here. A screenshot of the notification is shown below.
Update: What Really Happened
Ubiquiti originally blamed a third-party cloud provider, but later investigations showed the breach was carried out by a former Ubiquiti employee, Nickolas Sharp, who used his insider access to steal company data and then tried to extort the company. He was charged in December 2021, pleaded guilty in 2023, and was sentenced to six years in prison. The security steps below are still good practice for every Ubiquiti account.
Solution
To protect your account, log in to it and do the following:
- Change your password.
- Set a session timeout value.
- Enable two-factor authentication.
To manage the security settings of your Ubiquiti account, visit https://account.ui.com and log in. Click Security and follow the steps shown in the image below.
By following these steps, you can change your password, set a session timeout, and enable 2FA, which together make access to your account much safer.
For UniFi Wireless Systems
If you use the UniFi wireless solution and are not sure which account was created for cloud access, log in to the UniFi Controller and follow these steps:
- Go to Settings.
- Navigate to Remote Access.
- Check the Remote Access Status.
- Check the Owner.
On the page shown above, check whether remote access is enabled (in the image, it is not). If remote access is enabled, check which owner it is configured for: step 4 shows the email address of the remote access owner. You can then take the necessary actions by logging in to that account at https://account.ui.com.
You’ll find many more useful articles on Ubiquiti UniFi products on this site. We hope this article helps keep your account safe.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. It may contain affiliate links, which earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our Disclaimer and Affiliate Disclosure.
Article ID: EA00059