Recently, some people uploaded surveillance videos suspected of cracking the cameras in public places, triggering discussions about the leak of camera pictures in public places and homes. Can the camera really be cracked? The reporter's investigation found that this black industrial chain is hidden but rampant, and among the cracked cameras, hotels and families are "hard-hit areas".
Chaos
Suspected cracked video became a "package"
On January 17, netizens broke the news that some users uploaded surveillance videos suspected of cracking cameras in public places on Bilibili Danmaku Network (Station B). Station B responded urgently on the same day, removed and banned relevant videos and accounts. However, at the same time, the need to crack the chain of cameras and curiosity and distortion on the network is still rampant.
"Hello, need?" On January 18, the reporter had just joined a chat group called "Camera I", and soon there was a private chat between the group administrators named "Sparta". The group was created on January 15 and has 200 group members in just 3 days. On the day that the reporter entered the group, new netizens continued to join the group.
"No, I'm not online every day." The group administrator said that he had a variety of cracked camera surveillance screen "packages" for sale. These packages are "all boutique, package after-sales not only sold", the price is as low as 298 yuan, the maximum price is 500 yuan.
Taking the "package A" of 298 yuan as an example, after purchase, you can get a live broadcast of 80 cameras, including 40 hotel cameras and 40 home cameras, which have been successfully cracked. The "cost-effective" is "package C" - only 500 yuan, you can get 100 hotels and 60 families of the camera "live" screen, and includes a self-operated sweeping software.
In order to show the "strength", "Sparta" sent a real-time screenshot of a cracked camera. In the main screen, the "live broadcast" is a scene of a young man and woman resting in the hotel room, and the screen time is displayed as January 18, 2022 at 9:53 a.m. The text of the "real-time screen" below indicates that 337 recordings have been "stored".
The reporter's investigation found that it is not uncommon to sell cracked camera pictures and sell special cracking camera software, and a mature chain has been formed. This black chain is often hidden in chat groups of some social software, and most of the group names contain keywords such as "discussion", "video", "cracking" and "hotel ID".
Investigations
A few hundred dollars can buy cracking software
Hidden cracking chains on the market, in addition to peddling ready-made cracking screens, you can also spend hundreds of yuan to buy special cracking software. Sellers said that cameras in public places such as hospitals, shopping malls, supermarkets and so on can be cracked.
"It can be cracked, not chatted." The seller "Struggle" cautiously said that the sweeping software he sold would have a "tutorial to use" after payment. The cameras that can be cracked by the software, in addition to being installed in hotels or homes, such as supermarkets, hospitals, shopping malls and other places, can be successfully cracked.
The so-called "sweeping platform software", simply understood, is a software that uses program code to actively scan and test the opening of the camera after mastering the IP address of the camera on the public network. Peng Gen, a network security research expert and general manager of Beijing Hanhua Feitian Xinan Technology Co., Ltd., said that the camera screens in public places, hotels and homes were cracked, one reason is that the security system of the camera itself has vulnerabilities, but it is more likely that the criminals got the "IP library" of the camera through third-party channels, and then "cracked the code set by the software, one by one, constantly trying to open." ”
"I've made a total of 11 orders today." The seller "Sparta" said that he has been engaged in the cracking camera industry for 5 years. The platform sweeping software he sells is built by specialized technical personnel to write code, and the cameras of various brands on the market can be cracked. And it can crack the cameras of hotels and families, as well as the cameras of restaurants, supermarkets and other places, "buy software separately, at least 400 yuan." Each batch can crack 15 different cameras at the same time, and it is cracked by different batches of rolling rotation. ”
Not all cameras installed by others can be successfully cracked by software, and the cracked screen is not necessarily what someone needs. In this regard, after entering the cracking system, the page will also have corresponding prompts. "Once the cracking is successful, you click on the link that prompts success and you can watch it." If you don't like it, click on another link to continue looking at other venues and other types of pictures. What's even more frightening is that buyers are also free to set up cameras that crack the surrounding area or a certain city, "It's very simple, you can set up your own 'search nearby' or other areas, and it is no problem to download the screen." ”
chain
Candid videos or resold for dissemination
Cracking successful camera pictures, after flowing out, is often purchased, satisfying some people's distorted psychology. Some netizens suspect that "the probability is to pull people into that kind of paid group." The reporter's investigation found that some sellers said that if they want to sell the cracked picture for the second time, they need to greet them, establish contact, and "become an agent."
In the process of negotiating with the seller of the cracked software, the reporter raised the question of whether the cracked screen could be resold. In response, the seller said" Yes, it is equivalent to you becoming our agent." As for the price of the video screen after becoming an "agent", whether to give the other party a commission, how much to commission, etc., the other party is not willing to answer.
The aforementioned seller "Sparta" said that after spending 400 yuan on the desktop software, it can be used permanently. The way to "use it permanently" is that every month or every once in a while, he will help update the data of the cracked software. He said his account could also be blocked, so he kept in touch and kept the software data in place.
"90% of this sweeping software is cracked using the 'weak password dictionary' method." Peng Gen analyzed that the difficulty of developing similar sweeping software is not large, mainly to have the IP data or "weak password" required for the software. "The core is not the difficulty of software development, but having a database. One way is to grasp which IP addresses are behind the camera, the software will scan and crack them one by one; the other way is password cracking, there is a database of 'weak passwords'. For example, the code tries to unlock the initial username and password of the camera. In this case, it is easy to change or write the code of the cracked software. ”
Ideas
Three ways to reduce the risk of leakage
What should I do when I find footage of peddling cracked software or cameras? How to minimize the risk of camera footage leakage in homes, hotels or public places?
The operator of the Beijing 110 alarm service desk said that if the parties find that the camera screen related to themselves is leaked, it is recommended to call the police at the first time. If there is a relevant clue to report, the alarm service desk will notify the police station in the jurisdiction to contact and deal with it.
For reducing the risk of camera leakage, cybersecurity expert Peng Gen put forward three suggestions. When buying a camera, pay attention to choosing the mainstream and well-known big brands on the market, buy less small brands, cottage products, etc.; modify the factory default password of the camera in time, and the password setting should be as complicated as possible; at the same time, when installing the camera, do not easily expose the IP address of the device on the public network.
Source Beijing Evening News
Reporter Li Songlin
Process Editor Tai Shaofeng