120,000 Home and Business IP Cameras Hacked—Suspects Arrested for Selling Footage on Illegal Sites

[Financial News] Suspects who hacked approximately 120,000 Internet Protocol cameras (IP cameras) installed in homes and businesses to produce and sell sexually exploitative material have been apprehended by police.
The National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) announced on the 30th that it had arrested four individuals, including a suspect identified as A, for hacking around 120,000 IP cameras and selling the stolen footage on illegal overseas websites. The suspects are not believed to be accomplices.
Suspect A hacked approximately 63,000 IP cameras, edited the stolen footage to produce 545 illegal recordings and sexually exploitative materials, and sold them on overseas sites in exchange for virtual assets worth about 35 million won.
Suspect B hacked around 70,000 cameras, edited the footage into 648 files, and sold them, receiving virtual assets valued at approximately 18 million won.
Videos sold and posted by suspects A and B accounted for about 62% of all videos uploaded to the site over the past year. At the time of their arrest, none of their criminal proceeds remained. Police have notified the National Tax Service (NTS) to take appropriate legal measures, such as taxation.
Suspect C was found to have hacked 15,000 IP cameras, and suspect D hacked 136 cameras, storing the stolen footage. However, there was no evidence that either suspect distributed or sold the videos.
IP cameras, commonly referred to as 'home cams,' are installed in homes and various public businesses. Investigations revealed that the hacked cameras had simple passwords, such as repeated characters or sequential numbers and letters.
Police are also investigating the operators of illegal sites that post illicit footage targeting victims in multiple countries, in cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies. Additionally, three individuals have been arrested for purchasing or viewing illegal recordings and sexually exploitative materials through these sites, and investigations into other buyers and viewers are ongoing. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has been asked to block access to the sites, and authorities are working with foreign law enforcement to shut them down.
During the investigation, police directly visited, called, or sent notifications by mail to 58 locations identified as sites of victimization, informing them of the incidents and providing instructions on how to change passwords. In collaboration with the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and telecommunications companies, authorities are verifying users with vulnerable IP cameras. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) and other agencies are also working to promptly investigate high-risk and large-scale video leak cases to prevent further harm.
Police are making every effort to identify as many victims of illegal recordings and sexual exploitation as possible. Confirmed victims are being informed of procedures for deletion and blocking of illicit content and are being provided with various forms of support, including assignment of dedicated officers, counseling, assistance with removal and blocking of illegal material, and referral to the Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center.
Furthermore, police plan to rigorously monitor and investigate any secondary offenses against victims of illegal recordings and sexual exploitation, with a strong commitment to victim protection.
Park Woo Hyun, Cyber Investigation Officer at the KNPA, stated, "Crimes involving IP camera hacking and the production or distribution of illegal recordings and sexually exploitative material inflict severe suffering on victims. We are committed to eradicating these crimes through active investigations. Viewing or possessing illegal recordings is also a serious offense, and we will pursue such cases with equal determination."
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter