120,000 Home Cameras Were Hacked for Sexual Videos, South Korean Police Say

South Koreans have long been wary of hidden cameras in public toilets, subway stations and motel rooms. That fear increasingly extends to the cameras in their own homes.
Four people were arrested over the hacking of 120,000 home security cameras in South Korea, whose footage was used to make sexually exploitative material, the National Police Agency said on Monday.
It was the latest turn in South Korea’s decadelong battle against the illicit electronic spying that officials say has compromised countless devices that people use in daily life.
The footage came from internet-connected cameras that were installed in homes, businesses, hospitals, saunas and other spaces, commonly to monitor children or pets. One of the people arrested made about $12,000 by selling the footage to a foreign website that shares illegal content, and another made twice as much, the police said in a statement.
The hackers, who did not work together, were able to infiltrate the devices easily because they used vulnerable passwords with features like repeated characters or sequential numbers, the police said.
Such security cameras are used worldwide, and many have vulnerabilities. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined a security camera firm, Verkada, about $3 million last year after a hacker breached nearly 150,000 cameras inside hospitals, prison cells and rooms with children.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.