Israel urges citizens to turn off home cameras as Iran hacks surveillance systems

Cutting corners: As tensions between Israel and Iran escalate, Israeli authorities are urging citizens to take an unusual but crucial step: turn off their home security cameras or change their passwords. The warning comes amid growing evidence that Iran is actively attempting to tap into private surveillance devices across Israel to gather intelligence for military operations.

In the aftermath of recent Iranian missile strikes on Tel Aviv, concerns about the vulnerability of internet-connected cameras have intensified. “We know that in the past two or three days, the Iranians have been trying to connect to cameras to understand what happened and where their missiles hit to improve their precision,” Refael Franco, former deputy director general of the Israel National Cyber Directorate told Bloomberg.

Franco, who now leads the cybersecurity crisis firm Code Blue, spoke publicly to warn Israelis about the risks posed by unsecured home surveillance systems. The Israel National Cyber Directorate has confirmed that attempts to breach private cameras for intelligence gathering have increased during the conflict.

Iranian hackers are exploiting weak security settings, such as default or easily guessed passwords, on internet-connected devices. Once inside, they can access live video feeds to gather real-time intelligence on missile strike locations, troop movements, and sensitive areas, even as Israel enforces media blackouts on such information.

Many cameras come with default passwords, and some systems automatically stream footage on the internet, making them easy targets for hackers.

This is not the first time that adversaries have exploited security cameras in Israel. “The intelligence gathering that Hamas did from private cameras in the Gaza periphery was a disaster,” Gaby Portnoy, who recently completed his term as director of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, told the publication. “Thousands of cameras were hacked over the years, both public and private, and were used to collect intelligence.”

In 2022, the Israeli cyber agency warned that 66,000 personal cameras in Israel were using a default password and could easily be overtaken by hackers – a warning that largely went unheeded, including in southern towns later invaded by Hamas.

Following the Hamas attack, the Israeli government issued nonbinding directives urging citizens to improve the security of their surveillance systems, including enabling two-factor authentication.

Authorities also obtained legal approval to remotely disable traffic cameras and personal devices in sensitive areas, such as borders or critical infrastructure, after detecting increased attempts by adversaries to breach highway cameras to monitor troop movements.

The risks associated with unsecured cameras are not unique to Israel. Similar tactics have been observed in other conflict zones, including Ukraine, where authorities banned surveillance cameras after discovering that Russia was using them to plan airstrikes and adjust attacks in real time.

Cybersecurity experts warn that most consumers prioritize price over security when purchasing surveillance systems, often overlooking the risks. “Higher-grade security camera systems from vendors that take cybersecurity seriously will offer extensive configuration settings allowing for more device and communications customization,” Geoff Kohl of the Security Industry Association explained. He added that users should “presume your security video systems could be targeted.”

The ongoing conflict has brought into sharp focus the unintended consequences of widespread surveillance technology. As Franco put it, “You try to protect yourself and meanwhile you are exposing yourself.” For Israelis, the call to shut down home cameras is a reminder that in times of war, even the most ordinary devices can become part of the battlefield.