UAE home camera hacking warning: Six risks, a 15-minute protection guide and the fines for misusing footage

Dubai: The Director of the Digital Security Department at the Ministry of Interior and Head of the Arab Experts Team at the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, Brigadier General Dr. Engineer Ibrahim Hamid Al-Mayahi, warned of the increasing risks associated with the spread of home cameras, which have become part of modern homes to monitor entrances, children’s rooms, living rooms, and pets, through their connection to Wi-Fi networks, cloud systems, and smartphones. Al-Mayahi confirmed that these cameras record the most minute details of the family’s daily life, and therefore hacking them represents a direct and blatant violation of family privacy, the effects of which go beyond stealing a password that can be changed, as hackers can copy, keep and share the footage, which makes the repercussions of the hacking far-reaching. He pointed out the danger of the sensitive details revealed by the cameras, including the faces of residents and children, and their daily routines, such as times of departure, return, sleep, and travel, as well as revealing private spaces, such as bedrooms, living rooms, and corridors, and recording voices and conversations via built-in microphones and two-way communication. He revealed an incident involving a domestic worker whose residency had ended and who had left for her country, but who continued to monitor the cameras of the house where she worked through an app, without the family’s knowledge, until they became aware of the matter. Al-Mayahi stressed the importance of controlling access permissions to cameras, especially those granted to domestic workers, and canceling them when they are no longer needed, as well as constantly changing the passwords. Camera mounting locations Director of the Digital Security Department at the Ministry of Interior and Head of the Arab Experts Team at the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, Brigadier General Dr. Engineer Ibrahim Hamid Al-Mayahi. Picture credit: Supplied Al-Mayahi specified suitable locations for installing cameras, including the front door, external corridors, garage, and the garden at the entrance to the house, warning against placing them in bedrooms, bathrooms, children's rooms, changing areas, or pointing them at any angle that reveals the neighbour's balcony or garden, in order to protect privacy. Regarding the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in these devices, he explained that the cyber attacker is always looking for the ‘weakest link’ in the security chain, stressing that the security of the camera is linked to the security of all links in the system, starting with the device itself, passing through the home network and the connection to cloud services, and ending with the phone application that controls it. During an awareness workshop held by the General Women’s Union in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, entitled ‘Smart Home Cameras: Eyes Watching and a Hidden Threat’, Al-Mayahi reviewed the most prominent risks associated with these devices, stressing that protecting them begins with proper planning when purchasing, and not being satisfied with looking at discounted offers. Six risk factors He explained that the risks are based on six main points, the first of which is the use of weak or default passwords, which is one of the most common ways of unauthorised access, and the second is the reliance on old, outdated software that contains known security vulnerabilities that are left unaddressed. The third aspect is the weakness of home network protection, through leaving open ports and relying on unprotected wireless networks, while the fourth relates to cloud services and internal access privileges, including the possibility of abuse of privileges, the ability of some employees of supplying companies to view recordings, as well as the risk of the supplying entity itself being exposed to hacking. The fifth point relates to forgotten posts, such as old access links and former users remaining connected to the system without having their privileges revoked, while the sixth is the leaking or misuse of footage, by copying, selling, resending and broadcasting it without the permission or knowledge of its owners. Al-Mayahi pointed out that stealing a camera application account, or granting access privileges without managing and reviewing it, could open the way for hacking the system, even if the rest of its components are secure. Case study: Hacking 120,000 cameras Al-Mayahi cited a real-life case announced by the Korean National Police in December 2025, which involved four separate arrests, following the hacking of 120,000 cameras in homes, karaoke rooms, pilates studios, and women's clinics. He explained that the attackers relied on simple passwords, then sold the footage through an external website, and that the clips offered by only two sellers constituted about 62% of the clips offered. He explained that the lesson learned from the incident is that attackers prefer easy targets, and that indoor cameras in bedrooms a