Verkada

Verkada positions itself as a company that is ready to provide secure remote access to video surveillance. Verkada began operations in 2016, the company also offers its customers the capabilities of video analytics with facial recognition and vehicle identification.

History

2021: Hacking 150,000 cameras worldwide

In early March 2021, hackers hacked into the security system of the startup Verkada, which offers corporate video surveillance services. As a result of the attack, attackers gained access to more than 150 thousand cameras, including cameras at Tesla factories and warehouses, Cloudflare offices, Equinox gyms, hospitals, prisons, schools, police stations and Verkada's own offices.

According to one of the members of the international hacker group Tilly Kottmann, who hacked the Verkada system, the hack was supposed to show how vulnerable the company's surveillance cameras are and how easy it is to hack them. In addition to live broadcasts, the group also claimed to have access to a complete video archive of all Verkada customers.

The hacker group gained access to 150 thousand cameras in hospitals, police and companies around the world

Hackers shared that they initially logged in to the account with the login "Super Admin" which they found on the Internet, after which they used the capabilities of cameras to obtain root access and remotely control the video surveillance system.

The list of customers using Verkada is extensive: in addition to companies such as Tesla and Cloudflare, the group gained access to Verkada cameras at the Florida Hospital Halifax Health; Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut; Madison County Prison in Huntsville, Alabama; at Wadley Regional Medical Center Hospital in Texarkana, Texas. In addition to the videos made by the camera, the group of hackers also states that it was able to access the full list of thousands of Verkada customers and its private financial information.^[1]

Notes