South Korean police arrested four for hacking 120,000+ IP cameras, exploiting footage and selling the videos illegally accessed footage online.
The National Police Agency of South Korea said on Sunday that four individuals, thought to be working entirely independently, collectively compromised more than 120,000 internet protocol cameras.
Police said that the goal of at least two of the suspects was to take the footage from intimate locations, such as gynecology offices, and create sexually exploitative videos to sell online.
South Korean news outlet Yonhap reported that of the four suspects in question, none of whom were named, two worked typical office jobs while the others were described as either unemployed or self-employed.
The vast majority of the suspected IP camera intrusions were believed to be carried out by just two of the four, who each allegedly compromised approximately 63,000 and 70,000 devices.
They sold their videos on a website officials only referred to as “Site C” for ₩35 million ($23,800) and ₩18 million ($12,200) respectively.
The other two accounted for just 15,000 and 136 camera break-ins respectively.
Police have not yet issued charges for any of the four suspects, but they are still being questioned, as are three people who were arrested on suspicion of purchasing the exploitative videos.
“IP camera crimes are serious crimes that cause enormous pain to victims, so we will definitely eradicate them through active investigation,” said Park Woo-hyun, cyber investigation director at the National Police Agency.
According to the police’s announcement, the suspects largely relied on breaking into cameras with weak or easily locatable factory passwords. Officers visited 58 locations where cameras were compromised to inform the owners and advise on password security.
Reports are sourced from official documents, law-enforcement updates, and credible investigations.
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