Is Hacking IP Cameras Just for Voyeurs or Does it Have Strategic and National Security Implications?

[Cartographer]

Welcome back, my aspiring cyberwarriors!




Hacking IP cameras has always had a bit of voyeuristic appeal to the aspiring cyberwarrior. Many want to be able to watch people (girlfriends, spouses and colleagues) without being detected. This is a more base application of this skill. The higher level application of these skills concern the strategic interests of nations and corporations.




Remember the movie, Fast and Furious 7? In that movie, a hacker had developed a way to access ALL of the world's cameras including those on every phone. This skill was so valuable that she was being hunted by every nation's intelligence community. Imagine that power of viewing billions of cameras around the globe. If you were to pair such power with our new artificial intelligence capabilities, you would have the power of the gods! In fact, in the movie, this application was named appropriately, God's Eye.
















In our modern digital era, there are cameras nearly everywhere. On street corners, in parking lots, in homes, on front doors...nearly everywhere. In addition, these cameras are in commercial locations such as factories, ports, loading docks, you name the location and there is likely an IP camera there. These same cameras can have national security implications as well, such as in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.




National Security




In the case of Ukraine in 2022, the national security apparatus there was concerned that the Russian Army was about would overrun their country when the invasion started. As a result, they came to us at Hackers-Arise and asked us to hack/access over 900 cameras throughout the country for the purposes of reconnaissance on the Russian Army movements. We we able to access a large number of them.







Chinese Surveillance?




Most of the IP cameras are manufactured in China such Dahua and Hikvision. A close inspection of these cameras reveals that they are relatively easy to access, almost like someone made them vulnerable by design. There are people within the national security and intelligence communities who claim that China is using these cameras for intelligence gathering and reconnaissance. As a result, these cameras are now banned in many countries. This only emphasizes the importance of these cameras to national security.













Corporations are always concerned about their competitors, both internationally and domestically. In some cases, they are accessing the cameras of their competitors shop floors, parking lots, shipping docks, etc. to determine what the competitors is doing. This can become a key competitive advantage to those companies.




As many of you have written to me, you have lost billions of dollars in crypto- and fiat currency to Internet scammers. These scammers most often escape without any repercussions because law enforcement does not have the technical capability, nor the manpower to chase these criminals. Imagine if you could access their cameras in their offices or the street corner to track their movements and assist law enforcement or the private investigator?




Career Opportunities




My key point here is that IP Camera Hacking is not a skill set of the voyeur, but rather a skillset of strategic and national security interest. Those individuals with these skills will find a ready market for their skills in law enforcement, national intelligence, and private investigations. This says nothing about the thousands of corporations that need their IP cameras tested for vulnerabilities in a penetration test. Few pentesters have this skillset making you far more valuable to your employer.




To learn the latest techniques of IP Camera Hacking, May 13-15 in our upcoming live class. Part of the Subscriber Pro package.