An exposed camera is not just a privacy problem. In this campaign, a Russian intelligence service is treating internet-reachable CCTV as persistent surveillance infrastructure, using the feed itself to watch military logistics and, in Ukraine, to help target personnel and equipment.
The AIVD and MIVD say the activity is ongoing across Europe and Ukraine. Censys says the exposed surface is much larger than one case, with more than 87,000 internet-connected devices matching known-exploited services, including thousands in Ukraine and tens of thousands in the Netherlands alone.
The weak point is mundane: unchanged passwords, default settings, and devices left reachable from the internet. That means a single camera can expose route patterns and cargo movement without any deeper breach of the network.