By Chyung Eun-ju, Park Si-soo
Police nabbed 14 hackers for allegedly cracking into internet-connected cameras, capturing video of users naked and spreading them online.
According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, the suspects hacked into 1,402 internet protocol (IP) cameras installed in homes or stores and peeked into the private lives of their users 2,354 times between April and September.
IP cameras are widely used for home surveillance. Unlike CCTV cameras, IP cameras can send and receive data via computer networks and the internet.
Police said the cameras captured footage of women changing, in underwear or naked. The hackers were able to zoom or control the angles.
Police have confirmed 35 victims. They believe there are more.
One of the suspects told police he hacked the cameras to steal a look at the private lives of women.
Another suspect said it was easy to break into camera systems because many were locked with simple passwords such as 1111 or 1234.
Police said IP camera users should protect their systems with “hard-to-guess” passwords, regularly update and check their system and log data.