South Korea Arrests 4 for Hacking 120,000 IP Cameras to Mass-Produce Illegal Videos
Police in South Korea have detained four individuals in connection with the hacking of more than 120,000 IP security cameras installed in private homes and offices—footage from which the perpetrators allegedly mass-produced and sold illegal intimate videos. The report comes from Korea JoongAng Daily, citing the country’s National Office of Investigation.
According to police findings, the suspects acted independently: each broke into cameras, accessed them remotely, downloaded the recordings, and either sold the videos on foreign pornographic platforms or simply kept them for personal use. The attacks exploited devices protected by rudimentary passwords such as “1111” or other simple numeric and alphanumeric combinations. IP cameras in Korea, as elsewhere, are widely used to monitor children, elderly relatives, pets, and to secure homes and businesses—making incidents of this kind particularly traumatic for victims.
One suspect, an unemployed man, allegedly hacked roughly 63,000 cameras, created 545 videos, and sold them on overseas platforms, earning approximately 35 million won (about USD 24,000) in cryptocurrency. Another, an office worker, reportedly accessed around 70,000 cameras, produced 648 videos, and profited roughly 18 million won. By the time of their arrest, none of the proceeds were found in their possession, and tax authorities have been notified of potential illicit income. Police note that the videos created by these two individuals accounted for nearly 62% of all illegal recordings uploaded in the past year to a specific foreign pornographic website hosting victims from multiple countries. Korean authorities are now working with international partners to have the site blocked and to investigate both its operator and its users.
A third suspect—a self-employed businessman—allegedly hacked about 15,000 cameras and stored the resulting footage, while a fourth office worker gained access to 136 cameras, likewise saving the videos but not distributing them. No evidence has yet been found indicating that these two sold or spread the material. Three of the four individuals are currently in custody; one remains free.
Police report that they have already begun assisting victims. Investigators have contacted 58 addresses where compromised cameras were installed—by phone, in person, or via written notices. Owners were informed of the breach and advised on securing their devices, including changing weak passwords. Ongoing support is being offered: officials are assigned to each victim, providing guidance, helping locate and remove unlawfully posted videos, arranging for their blocking, and, when necessary, referring victims to the Center for Digital Sex-Crime Assistance. Authorities stress that they will respond decisively to any instance of secondary harm, including blackmail or the redistribution of the videos.
A request to block access to the problematic foreign website has already been submitted to Korea’s Communications Standards Commission, while an international investigation is underway targeting the site’s operator and users abroad. Within Korea, police have additionally arrested three people who purchased or viewed the illicit videos, reminding the public that not only producing but also watching or possessing such material constitutes a criminal offense.
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