More than 1,20,000 surveillance cameras placed in homes and businesses have been hacked in South Korea. The hackers used the footage to create and sell sexually exploitative content online.
Authorities have arrested four individuals in connection with the massive breach. The suspects took advantage of weak points in IP cameras, like easy-to-guess or default passwords. They targeted cheaper IP cameras, which are affordable alternatives to traditional CCTV systems, according to the BBC.
Park Woo-hyun, a cyber investigation chief at the National Police Agency, said, "IP camera hacking and illegal filming inflict immense suffering on victims and are therefore serious offences. We will eradicate them through vigorous investigations."
He further said, "Viewing and possessing illegally filmed videos are also serious crimes, so we will actively investigate them."
These hacked cameras were placed in private rooms, karaoke rooms, a Pilates studio and even a gynaecologist's clinic.
One suspect is accused of hacking 63,000 cameras and making 545 sexually exploitative videos, which he sold for 35 million won (about Rs 21 lakh). Another suspect allegedly hacked 70,000 cameras and sold 648 videos for 18 million won (about Rs 10.8 lakh).
Together, these two were responsible for around 62 per cent of all videos posted in the past year on a website.
Police said they have contacted victims at 58 locations, advising them to change their camera passwords and helping them delete or block any online content that was stolen. They are also working to find more victims who may have been affected by the hacks.
The National Police Agency (NPA) has also warned people who have IP cameras at home or in their business to stay alert and change their passwords immediately and regularly, reported The Independent.
In another incident, over 33 million customers' personal data was exposed in a cyberattack on Coupang, a major South Korean e-commerce company. This is being treated as the worst data breach in South Korea in over ten years.
