Ukraine: Online cameras in Kyiv targeted by Russian espionage effort

Russia has been alleged by Ukraine's security service to have breached online surveillance cameras on residential buildings in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in a bid to conduct espionage on the country's critical infrastructure and air defense forces, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. While initially meant to monitor buildings' surrounding areas, two of the compromised web cameras, which have already been shut down, had their viewing angles changed and were linked to YouTube for streaming by Russian intelligence services, with the footage eventually used by Russia to facilitate its major missile strike against Ukraine on Jan. 2, the SBU said. Nearly 10,000 security cameras potentially leveraged by Russia for missile strikes have already been disrupted by Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, noted the SBU. Meanwhile, Russia has been reported by Radio Free Europe to have been facilitating espionage on thousands of surveillance cameras across Ukraine through the Trassir software program.