Over 700 webcam feeds in Singapore leaked online

SINGAPORE - A website that claims to highlight vulnerabilities in surveillance cameras has exposed over 700 video feeds from Singapore to all internet users.

By tapping on default passwords like 'admin' and 'password', the US-registered website has managed to pull the video feeds from thousands of surveillance cameras worldwide. The United States and South Korea top the list, with over 11,000 and 6,000 breached cameras respectively.

According to the website, this vulnerability only affects network surveillance security cameras and digital video registration systems. USB cameras on PCs and internal cameras on notebooks are not affected.

Most of the cameras are installed in private living spaces, as well as offices and public areas, posing a major breach of privacy. Users can even filter the footage by country or camera brands, such as Panasonic or Linksys.

A search through the list of Singapore cameras showed footages displaying the interior of HDB apartments, corridors, cafes, parking spaces, and even offices.

While the website claims that it only wants to 'show the importance of security settings' and that these cameras are 'not hacked', the advertisements on the website make its motives questionable.

grongloh@sph.com.sg