Hackers use security cameras to track troops, military targets in Israel, Ukraine - report

The Wall Street Journal reports that internet-connected security cameras worldwide are increasingly hacked for military intelligence, enabling countries including Israel, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine to monitor troop movements and assess attacks. The investigation highlights a poultry farmer in northern Israel whose camera language settings changed to Arabic during the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, indicating compromise by hackers who gained a view of Israeli security activity near the Lebanese border.

The Wall Street Journal reports that internet-connected security cameras and webcams worldwide are increasingly being hacked and turned into military intelligence tools, allowing countries including Israel, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine to monitor troop movements, track targets, and assess attacks. An estimated 1.2 billion internet-connected cameras operate worldwide, many inadequately secured. One incident highlighted involved a poultry farmer in northern Israel who discovered that the language settings on a camera overlooking his chicken coop had changed to Arabic during the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran earlier this year. The Israel National Cyber Directorate determined that hackers had compromised the Chinese-made device, gaining a view of Israeli security activity near the Lebanese border. The directorate helped the farmer improve the camera's security and change its viewing angle. The article also notes that Israel reportedly infiltrated Tehran's traffic camera network to monitor senior Iranian officials ahead of the operation that killed then-supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The WSJ investigation also describes how Russia and Ukraine have used compromised surveillance systems to obtain battlefield intelligence.