Is your password "1111"? Congratulations, you may have become a star on a foreign porn site.
Four South Koreans hacked 120,000 home cameras.South Korean police have arrested four individuals in connection with hacking over 120,000 IP surveillance cameras in homes and offices. The perpetrators allegedly mass-produced and sold illegal intimate videos from the footage. This was reported by Korea JoongAng Daily, citing the country's National Investigation Agency.
According to police, the suspects acted independently of each other: each would hack the cameras, gain access to them via the internet, download videos, and either sell the clips on foreign porn sites or simply store them. The attacks targeted devices with primitive passwords like "1111" or simple numeric and alphanumeric sequences. In Korea, as in other countries, IP cameras are often used to monitor children, elderly relatives, pets, and for home or business security, making such incidents particularly sensitive for the victims.
One of the suspects, an unemployed man, allegedly hacked approximately 63,000 cameras, produced 545 videos, and sold them through foreign platforms, earning roughly 35 million won (about $24,000) in cryptocurrency. Another detainee, an office worker, gained access to around 70,000 cameras, made 648 videos, and received approximately 18 million won. By the time of their arrest, no money obtained from selling these videos was found, and the tax service has been notified about potential illegal income. Police note that the videos created by these two perpetrators accounted for about 62% of all illegal uploads over the past year on one specific foreign porn site, which hosts clips with victims from various countries. Korean law enforcement, in cooperation with foreign colleagues, is now seeking to block the site and investigating the activities of its operator and its users.
A third suspect, a self-employed individual, allegedly hacked about 15,000 cameras and stored the obtained recordings. A fourth office worker gained access to 136 cameras and also merely saved the videos. So far, no evidence has been found that these two sold or distributed the materials. Three of the four suspects are in custody, while one remains free.
Police report that they have already begun assisting the victims. Investigators contacted 58 addresses where the hacked cameras were installed: they called, visited in person, or sent letters. They explained to the owners what had happened and provided recommendations on protecting their devices, including changing simple passwords. Support for victims continues: they are assigned responsible officers, offered counseling, assisted in finding, deleting, and blocking illegally published videos, and, if necessary, referred to the Center for Supporting Victims of Digital Sexual Crimes. Authorities emphasize they will strictly suppress any secondary victimization, including blackmail and re-distribution of the videos.
A request to block access to the problematic foreign website has already been submitted to the Korea Communications Standards Commission, while an international investigation against its owner and users from other countries is underway in parallel. Domestically, Korean police have additionally arrested three individuals who purchased or viewed these videos and remind the public that not only production but also viewing or storing such materials is a criminal offense.
