When Your Own Eyes Turn Against You: How Compromised Security Cameras and IoT/OT Devices Become Tools for Your Attackers

The report warns that Internet-connected security cameras, IoT and OT devices are routinely compromised and repurposed by nation-state actors and criminal groups for reconnaissance, espionage, botnet operations, ransomware pivots, and physical disruption; it cites documented cases (Iranian and Russian campaigns, exposed live feeds, Mirai/Eleven11bot infections, and an Akira ransomware pivot) and attributes the problem to default credentials, poor patching, internet exposure, supply-chain risk, and inability to deploy endpoint agents—recommending network-level Zero Trust Connectivity to block unauthorized connections and prevent lateral movement.