Mother horrified to discover live camera feed of children's bedroom on internet

She has now banned her eight-year-old daughters from the web

One of the girls clicked on a link while trying to play a game on her iPad which gave hackers access (Getty)

A mother spoke of her “worst nightmare” after seeing a live feed of her young daughters' bedroom streaming on the internet.

It is believed hundreds of people watched the feed after it was posted online by hackers who tapped into security cameras.

The Texas woman was alerted to her home being targeted after seeing a screenshot on a Facebook group for Houston mothers.

The mother, who only wanted to be identified by the name Jennifer, told ABC: “I feel like I’ve failed.… People are watching my kids in their home, dressing, sleeping, playing.”

Her daughters share the bedroom and the house is fitted out with security cameras to “protect” the family, she said.

The screenshot was posted on Facebook by Shelby Ivies, another mother more than 2,000 miles away in Oregon, who discovered it on Sunday.

"I was in tears, thinking of the violation [Jennifer] must feel," Ms Ivies told ABC News.

She was looking for satellite images of Earth with her son when she downloaded the Live Camera Viewer app.

It shows feeds from around the world – including sporting events, zoo enclosures and traffic intersections – but some are from private cameras.

Jennifer believes one of her daughters clicked on a malicious link while trying to play a game with her friends online.

Security experts told her hackers would have found the family's IP address from her daughter's iPad.

They then located the monitor and computer system, and accessed their modem and DVR system, which was linked to cameras throughout the house.

She has now banned her children from using the internet, adding: “I just can't chance it again.

"Nowadays, everyone wants to play with people they don't know. Always watch to see what your kids are doing."

Almost one billion Android phones have been found to have security flaws which can allow hackers total access - including to the camera and microphone.

A fix for the ‘Quadrooter’ vulnerability will not be available until September.