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Russia Hacks Doorbell Cameras To Spy On NATO Bases (yahoo.com)

(Friday July 10, 2026 @11:30PM (BeauHD) from the internet-of-spies dept.)


Dutch intelligence agencies say Russian hackers have been [1]hijacking unsecured internet-connected cameras , including likely doorbell and security cameras, to spy on NATO military bases and transport routes used to move weapons to Ukraine. "Organisations with IP [internet protocol] cameras on these routes have now been warned so that they could take action," said the AIVD domestic security and MIVD military intelligence agencies. Targeted NATO member states include the Netherlands and Ukraine. The Telegraph reports:

> While the intelligence agencies did not specify the type of cameras hacked, the doorbell systems are frequently used by people to monitor their property from mobile phones. Hackers then use readily available apps to scan for devices that might be accessible. The Dutch investigation found that many of the cameras were unsecured, and "often have standard passwords, outdated firmware and standard configurations." They said: "When the IP camera is identified, the malicious party can attempt to access the IP camera via the internet. This is often relatively easy, because many IP cameras connected to the internet are insufficiently secure."

>

> [...] The practice is now considered easier and cheaper than using drones and satellites to gather intelligence. It also aids operational surprise because most camera owners are blissfully unaware their devices have been penetrated by hackers. Ground-based cameras offer a unique perspective on the terrain, which isn't the case with conventional aerial-based spy kit.



[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/russia-hacks-doorbell-cameras-spy-182345548.html



Oh no the Russians! (Score:2, Redundant)

by phantomfive ( 622387 )

> Russian hackers have been hijacking unsecured internet-connected cameras

The article doesn't say why they think it's Russians.

Taking control of a device with a default password is not really a heavy hacking task. It doesn't require nation state resources. You could probably do it yourself in an afternoon, if you were motivated.

Re: (Score:3)

by korgitser ( 1809018 )

If it is possible to walk into cameras on NATO bases like that, honestly they deserve it. This shit should be locked behind seven layers of impossible.

Re:Oh no the Russians! (Score:5, Insightful)

by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 )

> If it is possible to walk into cameras on NATO bases like that, honestly they deserve it. This shit should be locked behind seven layers of impossible.

Per TFA,it's civilian cameras on transit routes, so what it sounds like is they look for cameras along major roads and hack into them to follow shipments. It would not surprise me if they were trying to hack phones/watches/fitness bands or anything that can track individual then look at data to try to find the drivers by correlating the data with traffic data.

Re: (Score:2)

by phantomfive ( 622387 )

> If it is possible to walk into cameras on NATO bases like that, honestly they deserve it.

The camera feed is fake.

Re: (Score:3)

by redmid17 ( 1217076 )

It absolutely does

Kremlin-based hackers accessed the devices to monitor the transfer of military equipment to Ukraine, the AIVD domestic security and MIVD military intelligence agencies said.

Their joint investigation found the Russian operation had targeted cameras pointing towards military transport routes in the hope of identifying what weapons were being sent to Kyiv.

Do you think the people who found the hacked devices can't backtrace IPs and proxies?

Re: (Score:2)

by phantomfive ( 622387 )

> Kremlin-based hackers accessed the devices to monitor the transfer of military equipment to Ukraine

Again, it doesn't say why they think they were "Kremlin based hackers."

I personally tracked the IP address of an open webcam I was monitoring, and I found it was hacked by redmid17 - 1217076. I have all the proxy traceroute logs. Very suspicious.

Fact check (Score:3)

by r1348 ( 2567295 )

Targeted NATO member states include the Netherlands and Ukraine.

Ukraine is not a NATO member state. If you know anything about the conflict, you'd know that's kinda the whole point.

Seriously, who writes these summaries?

Re: (Score:3)

by manu0601 ( 2221348 )

> Seriously, who writes these summaries?

NATO supporters?

Re: (Score:3)

by RitchCraft ( 6454710 )

"Seriously, who writes these summaries?"

Russian hackers?

Re: (Score:2)

by PPH ( 736903 )

> Seriously, who writes these summaries?

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraph

Re: Fact check (Score:3)

by Intellectual Elitist ( 706889 )

Importantly, there was a comma before Ukraine in TFA, so it may not be automatically incorrect after all. Not a clear cut case for using a semicolon there either, as that would be a more substantial pause than needed.

Seems like wasted effort (Score:2)

by Baron_Yam ( 643147 )

They're not going to identify where the weapons are deployed and they're more or less already notified in the public press that they're coming and from which countries. Also... it's not like Russia can do anything about it. They're not going to attack a NATO base to destroy a weapons cache. They can't strike all that far into Ukraine accurately enough to target anything specific either.

I'm all for Russia wasting effort that could have been applied elsewhere to give more advantage to them on the battlefi

Old school... (Score:1)

by overblod ( 4964629 )

They should just buying data from AI companies like China

Obvious and stupid (Score:2)

by gurps_npc ( 621217 )

I just do not understand how so many people are so freakin' STUPID.

They have abandoned their privacy, thinking nobody cares about them. But it has gotten so cheap to spy on people that you can spy on everyone, aggregate the data and suddenly everybody cares about the data.

Every doorbell camera like this should come with a large warning (bigger than the doorbell camera) that says:

"Thieves WILL access this camera and use it to figure out when you are on vacation. Your ex boyfriend will access it and see who

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