tapo-c210/README.md

C210 Tapo camera

IP Cameras are a nightmare for our privacy. For this reason I am reverse engineering a Tp-Link Tapo C210's firmware and its relative app in order to prevent them from sending any data to untrusted servers. There are better resources than mine: see https://github.com/nervous-inhuman/tplink-tapo-c200-re and https://drmnsamoliu.github.io/. Be careful use those resources mindfully, as they are about Tapo C200, whereas this repository focuses on the C210. Despite being esthetically equivalent and having a similar name, their hardware is completely different. The C200 is based on a MIPS microprocessor, whereas the C210 is based on the ARM-based MStar SSC335 chipset.

In particular, I will focus on

• the reverse engineering of the app in order to be able to use the camera without a Tp-Link account;
• the reverse engineering of the firmware to strip off the portions of code sending the video stream to their servers, or better self-compile a clean firmware. Good news you can install OpenIPC, having a look at this link

How these cameras were designed to work

1. You download a proprietary app (Tp-Link Tapo) and create an account without which the camera can not work;
2. You use said app to instruct the camera to use a specified Wi-Fi AP;
3. The camera sends the video stream not end-to-end encrypted to servers we have no control over;
4. You have the possibility to update the camera's firmware through its app. This expands the attack surface for a hacker or from the company itself to push a malicious update.

What we can do

As of today, we have:

• Libre NVR solutions (iSpy, ZoneMinder, ...);
• A collection of open source software to control these cameras through undocumented APIs, see my collection.

Nonethless, you still need the proprietary app and a Tp-Link account the first time you boot the camera up and NVRs will not stop the camera from sending the video stream to their servers without using a firewall.

This repository aims to resolve these issues.