Security cameras despite safety issues are still used by many. Recently in Singapore, cybercriminals hacked into these security cameras and sold shared stolen footage online, specifically on pornographic sites.
These accessed footages, ranging from one to more than 20-minute-long videos, feature couples, breastfeeding mothers, and also children. Some of these videos also show people without clothes or in compromised positions, suggest some reports.
These wrongly accessed footage clips also include many people, without their faces being blurred, in places like living rooms and bedrooms, while some of these cybersecurity victims are seen using toilets.
Breach of Privacy
Last year, Amazon's Ring security system became the top topic of discussion after reports revealed that a hacker accessed the security camera installed inside the children's room in Mississippi, US.
After mounting the camera to the wall, one day, a built-in speaker started to piping a song—Tiptoe Through the Tulips—into the empty room. But when an eight-year-old kid checked on the music and turned the lights on, a man started talking to her claiming that he was Santa Claus. Needless to say that he was a cybercriminal who breached the security system.
In the recent case, one of the shared videos from March 2020 showed a teenage girl in a white t-shirt and underwear. The video showed the books around the teen, including an O-level Ten-Year Series book. These videos—claimed to be from Singapore—feature homes that look like Housing Board flats.
As per the reports, these leaked videos appear to be from Internet Protocol (IP) cameras, common in Singapore homes, as many people install them due to security purpose or to monitor their children, elderly people, domestic workers, and also pets.
The Hackers
The hackers behind the recent cybersecurity incident are found to have hacked mainly IP cameras. Even though the name of the hacking group has not yet revealed its identity, cybercriminals can be found on the social messaging platform Discord. Apparently, the group has almost 1,000 members across the world.
Reports said that the hackers have shared over 3TB worth clips with subscribers who paid the group $200 for the service. Apart from Singapore, the victims of this hacking activity appear to be from South Korea, Thailand, and Canada.
The hackers claim to have a list of over 50,000 breached cameras which members can access and VIP members will be given tutorials to explore, watch live as well as record hacked cameras.
