(HorizonPost.com) – A recent investigation into Hikvision cameras found that hackers are gaining access to child monitoring feeds through the Chinese-based company’s mobile app to sell child pornography on social media, Fox News reported.
According to the surveillance industry trade publication IPVM, hackers are using the Hik-Connect app to peddle child porn on the social media platform Telegram.
The IPVM investigation found the widespread sale of nude videos under the labels “cp” (AKA child porn,” “bedroom of a young girl,” “kids room,” and “gynecological office,” all obtained by hacking the Hik-Connect app, raising questions about the vulnerabilities of Hikvision and similar cameras on the internet.
According to IPVM, the images are shared with other users through a QR code that enables Hik-Connect’s device sharing and streaming.
At least seven Telegram channels, with hundreds to thousands of subscribers, were sharing and selling the images and videos hacked from Hik-Connect until they were shut down following an investigation by the platform.
Within these Telegram channels, IPVM found offers to view nude images and videos of both children and adults, with one channel offering access to the hacked cameras themselves for a fee.
After it investigated the hacks, IPVM reported that it “promptly contacted” the FBI.
Meanwhile, Hikvision is accusing IPVM of trying to damage its business.
In a statement to Fox News, the Chinese-owned Hikvision said when it received an email from IPVM alleging that hackers were using its cameras “to record unconscionable things,” the company’s lawyers immediately contacted the US Justice Department to report the allegations. Hikvision also claimed that it notified “multiple offices of the FBI” as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Hikvision assured Fox News that it is “doing everything” it can to help. The company said as part of its “ongoing commitment” to provide “the safest, most reliable products,” it regularly upgrades its software “to detect and address any potential vulnerabilities.”
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