[News Today] CYBER ATTACKS ON IP CAMERAS

[LEAD]
IP cameras are prevalent in homes, hospitals, and restaurants, almost anywhere you go. But what we do often forget is that it links all these spaces to the internet. Recent investigations by KBS have confirmed that Russian hacker groups are targeting these devices, extracting footage and selling access credentials.

[REPORT]
This image was posted on social media used by hackers on Nov. 9.

The interior of a restaurant can be seen clearly.

Even customers' faces are recognizable.

The restaurant's IP camera was hacked by a group nicknamed "Alligator."

It's an Indonesian hacking organization that cooperates with a Russian hacking group that recently warned of widespread cyber attacks on South Korea.

It says it targets the U.S., South Korea and Ukraine.

Choi Sang-myung / Security expert
When this group hacks a website, Russian hackers re-run it, instigate it further.

Another Russian hacking group is selling access to some 100 IP cameras in Korea that can provide a sneak peek at any time.

The daily lives of ordinary Koreans in their offices and homes are completely exposed to hackers.

With more and more public agencies and IP cameras falling victim to cyber attacks, the government has laid out measures to protect IP cameras.

Even private-sector public facilities are now required to use security-certified cameras, while manufacturers must set difficult-to-hack passwords at the production stage.

The government is also urging individual users to make sure to update their cyber security.

Ryu Je-myung / Ministry of Science, ICT
Make sure to use a safe password, change it on a regular basis. Also, update your software to the latest version.

Businesses where videos are leaked accidentally will be investigated to find out if they have followed security rules properly, and violators will be fined.