Hacking Home Security
ADT Technician Pled Guilty To Computer Fraud, Accessing Customers’ Cameras and Invasive Visual Recording For Viewing/Spying Home Security Camera Feeds He Installed.
Hacking can happen locally or remotely. Local hacking means a hacker is within range of your home or business office camera’s wireless network. This is the type of intrusion where a hacker continuously attempts to guess the password until they get in. Another action includes jamming the security camera’s wireless network. On the other hand, remote hacking can stem from your security company falling victim to a data breach that exposes your login information.
Department of Justice/U.S. Attorney’s Office link to Hacking Incident – 2021
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/adt-technician-pleads-guilty-hacking-home-security-footage
A former home security technician pleaded guilty on Thursday to a federal charge of hacking home security footage, mostly in Tarrant and Dallas counties, according to federal officials
The technician, who is a former employee with ADT Security Services, took note of homes where attractive women lived, then repeatedly logged into their accounts to view their video footage for sexual gratification, authorities said.
For more than four years, the former ADT employee, secretly accessed 200 customer accounts more than 9,600 times without them knowing it, federal officials said.
The former ADT employee pleaded guilty to the charge of computer fraud, and he faces a maximum of five years in federal prison.
“This defendant, entrusted with safeguarding customers’ homes, instead intruded on their most intimate moments,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah in a Thursday news release. “We are glad to hold him accountable for this disgusting betrayal of trust.”
The ADT employee admitted that contrary to company policy, he routinely added his personal email address to customers’ accounts, giving him real-time access to the video feeds from their homes. In some instances, he claimed he needed to add himself temporarily to “test” the system, according to federal court documents.
The employee watched videos that depicted naked women and couples engaging in sexual activity inside of their own homes, without the customers’ knowledge.
According to court documents, ADT utilizes a customer application called “ADT Pulse” that allows the customer to access their home security system to view both internal and external security cameras linked to the application. When conducting an initial installation, a technician is permitted to add their ADT employee email account to the application for access to the system. Once installed, technicians are required to remove their access to the customer’s system.
Federal authorities said Aviles would remember women he found attractive and access their cameras later in the day. He watched videos of women without any clothes on or couples engaging in sex.
The revelation of an electronic Peeping Tom is a great reminder of the risks that come from installing network connected cameras inside your home, or other locations where there’s a reasonable expectation of privacy. Individuals who choose to accept these risks should take the time to educate themselves on how to use, configure, and maintain their devices. A persons first priority is to inspect the list of users given access and who has logged into their system.
This privacy breach is a major personal violation for anyone who has a security camera system in their home. In this case, an employee was responsible for the hack, which means there could be similar issues or occurrences in the future.
If you’ve installed a security system at your home or business do yourself a favor and go into your admin settings and make absolutely sure that you recognize any and all emails associated with your account. Apparently this technician was telling clients that he would temporarily add himself on just for the initial setup.
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