World News
Slovakia deactivates traffic cameras after security agency reports Russian backdoors
The country's national security service found SMS-activated backdoors and unsecured live feeds in newly acquired speed cameras.
The short version
- Slovakia's national security service (NBU) identified serious vulnerabilities, including SMS-triggered remote access, in newly acquired traffic speed cameras.
- The Slovak Ministry of the Interior deactivated all installed units in response to the security findings.
- Authorities plan to bring in an independent auditor to verify the security agency's conclusions.
Key facts
- Slovakia's national security service, the NBU, found that acquired speed cameras contain an SMS-activated backdoor triggered by a hardcoded list of Russian phone numbers that can open shell and network access.[Slashdot]
- The NBU discovered that live feeds from the cameras could be accessed via device IP addresses without password protection, and the SecureBoot mechanism was ineffective.[Slashdot]
- The Slovak Ministry of the Interior shut down all installed cameras pending further review.[Slashdot]
- The hardware is suspected to be rebranded CORDON PRO.M cameras manufactured by the St. Petersburg-based firm Semicon and purchased through a Cyprus-based shell company with falsified certifications.[Slashdot]