More than 120,000 home cameras hacked, sex videos made and sold at high prices

More than 120,000 Internet Protocol (IP) or home cameras from homes and businesses hacked.

South Korean police have arrested four people on charges of hacking more than 120,000 Internet Protocol (IP) or home cameras from homes and businesses to create and sell sexually exploitative videos. The BBC reported this information on Monday (December 1), citing the National Police Agency.

Police said the suspects used to break into the cameras by exploiting weaknesses with simple passwords. IP cameras or home cameras, being cheaper than CCTV, are usually used for home security, monitoring children and pets or monitoring workplaces. The hacked cameras were located in various sensitive locations, including private homes and flats, karaoke rooms, a Pilates studio and a gynecologist clinic.

The National Police Agency said in a statement that the four suspects did not communicate or cooperate with each other. They committed these crimes separately. One of them hacked 63,000 cameras and created 545 sexually exploitative videos, which were later sold for 35 million won worth of virtual assets. Another hacked 70,000 cameras and sold 648 videos, worth 18 million won.

The two men are responsible for about 62 percent of the videos posted on a foreign website that illegally distributed IP camera footage in the past year, police said. Authorities are now taking steps to shut down the website and have launched a joint investigation with foreign agencies against its director. Three others have also been arrested for buying or watching videos from the site.

"IP camera hacking and secretly making videos are extremely serious crimes that cause great psychological harm to victims. We will continue to vigorously investigate these crimes to eradicate them. Viewing and storing illegal videos is also a crime — we will investigate this as well," said Park Woo-hyun, head of the National Police Agency's cyber investigation. Police have informed victims in 58 locations about the incident either in person or through notices and advised them to change their passwords. Work is ongoing to remove videos, block them, and identify other potential victims.