Video cameras are everywhere, and now they are being hacked for war (opens the source in a new tab)
- Hackers on both sides of the Russia–Ukraine and Israel–Iran conflicts are breaking into internet-connected cameras to watch troops, find targets and judge strike damage; in Israel, a hacked farm webcam overlooked army movements near the Lebanon border.
- Many of the world’s estimated 1.2bn connected cameras are weakly secured, often with default passwords, and installed by facilities staff rather than IT teams; AI now makes breaking in and sifting footage far easier.
- Ukraine’s security service says it has secured, reoriented or blocked about 40,000 risky cameras since 2022; some Western countries have banned easy-to-hack Chinese brands.
- 1.2bn
- connected cameras worldwide
- 40,000
- risky cameras Ukraine secured
Why it matters Every doorbell or office camera is now a possible lookout for an enemy, which turns basic device security into a national-security issue.
Other side Most cameras will never interest a military, and simple steps such as changing default passwords and updating devices remove much of the risk.
Also read: Free-to-read copy in Mint