Edit: Only 2 of these were actually installed.
...these cameras contain a hardcoded list of Russian phone numbers, which can be used to open a backdoor. An SMS from one of these numbers can open shell and network access.
...the web management portal can be accessed, exposing live streams, by anyone with the camera IP.
Reports also suggest that pressure from the opposition political party in Slovakia led to the NBU investigations. The current government of the country, led by populist Robert Fico, initially denied reports that the cameras were of Russian origin and rebuffed any security concerns. Fico has what some would describe as a pro-Russia tilt, but you can read more about that elsewhere, if you are interested.
52 Comments
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 113 pts · 2d
Does make you wonder about all those Flock Cameras going up in the US and Europe.
I wonder how the public would respond if they believed the cameras were accessible by the nefarious Russians or the insidious Chinese?
Triumph@fedia.io · 73 pts · 2d
Or the fascist US, which they very likely are.
4am@lemmy.zip · 31 pts · 2d
That’s not a backdoor though, that’s their stated purpose
yucandu@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2d
What's the difference?
JoMiran@lemmy.ml · 35 pts · 2d
Benn Jordan exposed their utter cybersecurity failure. His videos are in great part responsible for why the deflock movement took off.
partofthevoice@lemmy.zip · 22 pts · 2d
They are accessible by the Russians. They’re accessible from Joe Smoe, as evidenced by Benn Jordan. The cameras don’t discriminate in their discrimination and securities.
otter@lemmy.ca · 16 pts · 2d
I remember seeing articles that there are/were security vulnerabilities that went unpatched.
Since the american government is already abusing them, there's less of a conversation about how foreign governments might abuse them
hanrahan@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 12h
why would US Citizens cate ? it's the US Government that wants to harm them.
bedwyr@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 1d
I as well wonder. I also wonder why we don't start a rumour that that is the case.
It's not unethical, because we should all know the US did make sure there are back doors they can spy through. It's true, even if we don't know how it's true. Same with the kill switches in high value military gear they sell, like fighter jets and bombers.
yucandu@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d
The public has been generally brainwashed into believing the Russians aren't a threat, or are even a savior of right wing anti-gay gun-toting wife-beating conservatism.
But considering Trump is working with Russia, and Russia is working with China, it's probably not that far out of reality.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2d
Are you fucking joking?
yucandu@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2d
Dude they sent congressmen to Russia on the 4th of July.
They hand out t-shirts that say "I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat".
The current American president said that he trusts Putin over his own intelligence agencies.
Are you fucking asleep?
Or do you think they just haven't gone far enough?
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
The Stephen Crowder tier of right-wing hucksters make money on the "Buy My Merch To Make The Libs Mad" gambit precisely because you've got a full panel at MSNBC screaming about Russians being behind everything from Black Lives Matter to InfoWars. This kind of annoying Own-The-Libs bullshit only works because Liberals eat the Evil Foreigners Behind Everything line up with a spoon. It works because so many people are panicked about Russians hiding in the weeds.
"They" also happily parade around with "Trump 2028" hats and bumper stickers that gloat about contributing to climate change, because these things are unsettling to a liberal audience. If nobody cared about Russia, conservatives wouldn't try to enrage their Lib neighbors by claiming the love Putin so much.
bedwyr@piefed.ca · 6 pts · 1d
The conservatives owning the libs aside, you make a good point in that the establishment democrats have used Russia to justify their losses after they nominate the most unpopular candidates they can find to run status quo campaigns against a republican party running as reform in an angry electorate.
But Russia is helping fascists across the west seize control, and it's very dangerous. Very very dangerous, the fascists were already poised to seize control, and Russia's help can be enough to put them over the edge seeing as we still trust the controlled opposition to stop them.
In fact, unless we get some real populists across the west, liberal deocracies are going to fall like fucking dominoes the next couple of decades.
Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 1d
The Newspapers, TV channels and Social Media owned by billionaires are helping Fascists across the West seize control.
Then the supposedly Leftwing mainstream parties helped Fascists across the West seize control by turning neoliberal (i.e. hard right), putting ever more money in the hands of the wealthy and cutting ever more public services, thus empoverishing the common people, reducing their opportunities and making their quality of life worse, which created the mood of despair on which the Fascist propaganda spread by the above-mentioned Newspapers, TV channels and Social Media owned by billionaires providing fascist-flavored "answers" and "solutions" for their ills found fertile ground.
Only after that comes the influence of foreign countries, not just Russia but in many countries of the West also Israel (and, especially, outside the West, China).
Democracy started failing in the West when the Pillar Of Democracy which is the Press got bought by the money elites, and when the dominant political strain became Neoliberalism which, quite literally, wants the power controlled by voters - the State - to refrain from controlling or even just regulating (what the Neoliberals call "interfering") in anything controlled by Money (which the Neoliberals call "Free Market", even though only markets with low barriers to entry can Mathematically be a Free Market, whilst all the others tend towards Monopolies and Cartels) or in other words, for the power of controlled by something were everybody is equal - the Vote - to sit below the power controlled by something were some are billions of times more powerful than others - Money.
Mainstream political parties spent the last 4 decades pushing a political ideology to turn Democratic countries from places where the Power of the Vote is the greatest power into places were the Power of Money is the greatest power - in other words, into Oligarchies - and, lo-and-behold, Democracies are about to fall (they're already way less Democratic than 4 decades ago, which is why things like Stasi levels of civil society surveillance already are or are getting pretty widespread in supposed "democracies")
Democracy to Oligarchy and when people who aren't oligarchs or their minions in the new system push back because their lives are worse, then comes Fascism were the Theatre of Democracy of Oligarchy is taken down and boot on people's necks stops being hidden.
IMHO, in all this the only foreign interference which is not late-coming opportunism is maybe America's in most of the West (because that was the current political and economic model was assembled and from were it was spread to the rest) and possibly Israel in some countries like America, Germany and possibly Britain.
bedwyr@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 1d
Oh absolutely Britain, they are the hardest hit by foreign meddling right with the US. Brexit for example, Russia helped put them over the edge. They are backing Farage that WILL win, him or his successor, if labour and the tories stay in charge.
Yes I agree, all of this started in 1971, in the Business Roundtable. Monied Interests huddled up and made a long game to cooperate on to seize control of and subordinate the republic to money. Everything from killing Unions, (sending organized crime to infiltrate them, the fbi to investigate them for those mobsters, and their media to propagandize against them;) taking ownership of the media; getting rid of the regulatory regime, and the new deal and great society by hook and crook; taking both parties and turning them into tools and corrupting their morals; subverting reality to protect their interests; and so forth.
There have been further game plans and iterations, from legions of organizations since, all working for the same types of interests off the same game plan, and project 2025 was no exception.
I think everything you wrote is accurate. But we shouldn't discount the effect of the Russians' help. Or that of Israel, they are worse obviously in many ways, but the democrats don't use them as a foil for their own buggery of their constituents.
Foreign intelligence agencies can do a lot of things behind the scenes that can help one side over the top, and can also give a psychological boost to the fascists, courage to betray the country for party. Now it's not just Russia, the US is in on it too. The CIA and security contractors like the corporation formally known as blackwater and such mercenary firms will be employed to help surrepticiously. For instance, intercepting the communications of other lawmakers and using the information to manipulate outcomes. Helping to sabotage candidates that could win and instead getting the moderate cunts to run as opposition to the fascists so they can win is a big part of how Russia helped fuck the US for instance.
The UK and France are doomed to fall absent some real challenge for leadership, backed by some organization in the populace. And they don't have that and don't seem to have any realistic chance of achieving that. To say nothing of eastern europe which is especially vulnerable once the dominoes start to fall, and the rest of western europe as well.
Dissolving the EU is a main goal, and they aren't far off, as Russia helps the forces already on the cusp of seizing control, and helps push them further right, blaming problems of oligarchy on immigrants and such.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Russians like... Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner, and Steven Miller?
I would look to Albania and the Flamingo Revolution. Or the popular revolts in France and Italy. We're getting more material democracy in Europe than I've seen since the end of the USSR. Trump's bungling has created global opportunities for the overthrow of bourgeois dictatorship.
Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 1d
Curiously, the entire mainstream political range in America specializes in blaming all the ills of America on foreigners in some way or another: either it's the Libs claiming the problems are due to "foreign interference" or the Fascists claiming it's due to "immigrants".
In a country the size and wealth of America which can't really be bullied by a greater, richer and more militarily powerful nation, it's quite the stretch to basically claim that foreigners are the ones choosing how things are done, rather than the local power and money elites.
Yet, millions of morons incapable of even the simplest analysis when it comes to politics believe that shit (and I don't mean just on the MAGA side).
metermatic26@lemmy.world · 44 pts · 2d
Ye… Russian and Chinese infiltration are exactly the reason why leftists and centrist blocs in the EU introduced things like the GDPR snd Cybersecurity laws.
And why right wing extremists are constantly subverting efforts for more control and regulation.
raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
Interesting how that goes, innit? Nazis and fascists happily supporting Russian & Chinese campaigns to destabilize Europe.
JensSpahnpasta@feddit.org · 29 pts · 1d
We know that russia is trying to disrupt military logistics going from western countries into Ukraine. We saw attacks at train lines. We saw the recent drone attack at ukrainian military cargo planes in Leipzig. We know that russia is using agents to install secret webcams on roads to monitor military traffic. We know that germany switched off its public autobahn webcams because of this. Russia using backdoors in traffic cams is totally something they would do and Fico is lying here
trashgirlfriend@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 21h
Fico is lying, fork found in kitchen
Lasherz12@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 2d
Reminds me of Flock in the US. They claim to have no access to outside users when requested, and yet in Denver they kept them up and running and only took them down when bagged so the data would be useless to other users. I feel like at some point we're going to find the justice department or something like Palantir had unlimited access to the whole network the entire time.
4am@lemmy.zip · 11 pts · 2d
They both certainly do, that’s not even a question in my mind. There’s no other reason you build a “disruptive” surveillance camera system and guerrilla-install them even in places that had no contract, other than to give eyes to the intelligence industrial nightmare that is addicted to total control of all humans everywhere
As if they’d bother to bring peace if they ever accomplished this
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 1d
palantir, MS, google certaintly does already. palantir likely has first access.
daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 1d
There are now plenty of flock cameras taken down. I wonder if someone is being able to extract the firmware from one of those and start to reverse engineering it to see what's doing and what can do.
Lasherz12@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 22h
Many adjacent videos to what you're proposing. This guy is a legend. https://youtube.com/@bennjordan
Vandals_handle@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
I believe this is the reason for some of the data center buildout, not AI but massive amounts of storage to store data long term. AI might layer be used to edit data to manufacture evidence.
That's why I wear my tinfoil hat down low to obscure my face.
Lasherz12@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 22h
Well hard drives are brutally expensive now too, but I think Nvidia wouldn't be the richest company in the history of the world if the expansion wasn't all based on compute.
Retiredtoflorida@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 2d
Maybe it would be a good idea to spread the rumor that the Russian and china were using flock cameras to help Iran plan a terror attack. But that would be so wrong….
yucandu@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2d
bedwyr@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 1d
We really should start some rumours, idk if that's the one I would go with, but yeah, something(s) like that. I said the same further up the page actually.
Mulligrubs@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1d
Everything that can have a back door has a back door. No exceptions.
(whether Russian cameras or USA F-35 fighters)
cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 23h
May I introduce, the man without a butthole!
resipsaloquitur@lemmy.cafe · 1 pts · 18h
Ecce homo!
jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 17h
and this is why the average multi-millionaire needs to make their own silicon chips
mojofrododojo@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 20h
in slovakia, you can't drive to the store because the traffic lights have been hacked.
in russia, you can't drive to the store because there's no gas and the warehouse is a smoking hole in the ground.
DarkCloud@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2d
Someone is going to Die Hard 4 someone else eventually. In fact, didn't Russia knock a bunch of Ukrainian millitary communications satellites off before they invaded?
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260730-satellite-killers-what-a-war-in-space-might-look-like
lizardo@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 15h
Why Russian phone numbers mean Russia backdoors? Wasn't a fake clue like zombie computer? Even Hollywood hacker movies from the ’80s knew that if he were really Russian, he’d at least use a German phone number.
fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net · -6 pts · 2d
The Liberals I argued with the other day promise me this was physically impossible and that any objection to these cameras just means you want to speed and run red lights. Turns out leftists were right again
Vlado@feddit.org · 1 pts · 1d
Which liberals? Those from Slovakia? Because those are very anti-Fico and everything he does.
AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · -22 pts · 1d
We've always been at war with Russia since 2014
If the US or Ukraine did this in Russia you'd applaud. Maybe instead of getting all aghast about this, people should start to realize that if you want to expand Nato and seek conflict with a big country like Russia, shit is going to go down sooner or later. This is just what hybrid warfare is going to look like.
And it's not going to get better. It's not like we can attack Russia, they still have enough nukes to destroy the world and are modernizing them.
You are willing to sell out your wellfare, your liberty, the truth and peace and democracy to start this new conflict. Buckle up. Ten more years of this and it's going to get craaaazy!
ManixT@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 1d
Imperalist russia has s long history of murder and colonization of its neighboring countries. It's completely appropriate and justified for then to join a defensive alliance. russia has no one to blame for this but themselves.
late_pessimistic@slrpnk.net · 11 pts · 1d
4 years of 3-day special military operation, yet someone still unironically pushes "don't poke the bear" argument
Johanno@feddit.org · 7 pts · 1d
I would not applaud if this would happen to Russia.
I would love for this war to end, but I don't think that would be beneficial to the peace.
Also the only people who are afraid of a defence alliance are people who intent to wage war.
Adding Ukraine to the NATO in no way is aggressive towards Russia, except Russia intents to attack Ukraine and take its territory.
And what do we see? Ukraine wanted to join NATO and Russia attacks before that could happen.
AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · -6 pts · 1d
Well Russia thinks differently. And it doesn't matter if they are right or wrong, it's what they are going to do in response to what we did.
https://archive.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/nato-appeases-russia-ukraine-28817.html
Three months after the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit, war in Georgia. Then the Rose Revolution with NED funding, again war with Russia. Then 2013 NED brags about turning Ukraine, 2014 regime change in Ukraine, again war with Russia.
It's like you're not listening. I don't like Russia, but I understand they are not just going to roll over and accept weapons directed at them 400 miles away from Moscow. They are going to fight tooth and nail. We might bleed them, but they bleed us in return. 5% GPD for Nato 3.0.
So shit like OP is just going to get more common. And that will cost us liberties because now we have to spy on everything. All of this just because they just wouldn't understand that Nato is completely benevolent to them lol.
Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1d
To be fair, the EU is currently sending billions to support the Ukrainians in their fight against Russia. The EU is open about this support, it is no secret that there is a proxy war going on with Russia.
The Russian response against the EU has been pathetically weak, attacking undersea cables in secret provides a minor inconvenience, this camera business in the article is also quite pathetic compared to what the EU is doing to Russia.
In terms of going up the escalation ladder, Russia has barely gotten to step one because they can't even handle Ukraine, why do you think they can open up a second front against NATO when they are down to Ladas and donkeys fighting Ukraine?
You also clearly do not understand the concept of mutually assured destruction, Europe has more than enough nukes to flatten Russia, the moment Russia even thinks about launching a nuke this will happen. If Russia takes out European decision making centres, British subs activate their protocol and destroy Russia. You are insane if you truly believe Russia will destroy itself over a tiny slice of Ukraine.
AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · -6 pts · 1d
mutually, adverb: In the same way, each to the other; reciprocally.
Did I fucking stutter? Read what I wrote, not what you want to think I wrote.
Anyway if Trump orders a tactical nuclear strike on Iran, it depends on how the world reacts. And no I don't think Russia is insane enough to do it. They will however exploit it.
Because yeah, Russia has been very constrained in this war. Obviously they can't take on all of nato, but they have been practically fighting like a third of Nato because that is what Ukraine is. A nato allied and armed country.
They only bombed fuel stations and warehouses and the harbors in return to Rubio's escalation tactic. They haven't responded to the seizing of their tankers. UK wants to escalate this more. And that is the issue: People seem to continue to believe that Russia is just some idiot that only needs to be shown a bit more violence to understand how harmless nato on their border really is, then they'll capitulate. They won't.
The "fronts" of this hybrid war are also not just in Ukraine. Beside social media it's also how the Nato weapons bought from the military industrial complex shipped to Ukraine cost way more than what Russia manufactures in their state owned weapon manufacturers. In a war of attrition, Russia bleeds the west. Now 5% GDP is supposed to go to Nato 3.0 and the entire national weapon industries are supposed to be privatized and split up.
And Russia-hysteria is at an all time high. The news media operates in complete lockstep obscuring the reality of this war. That is another front. Another victory in destroying the neoliberal Europe.
Basically the same thing that Bin Laden wanted to happen to the US after 9/11 could happen to us. The US empire is collapsing and the elites in Europe seem to be hellbent on doubling down and following it into the grave for some reason.
And all that is before actual military retaliation against infrastructure in Europe.
Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d
Wow, you flipped from a concern troll to an angry teenager very quickly, it usually takes more than that with your lot. It seems the more precarious Russia's position gets the touchier you guys get too. I also don't know why you are talking about stuttering when we are communicating via text, it probably sounded cooler in your head!
If if if, bla bla bla. You are living in dreamland here talking about the most unlikely of scenarios, why waste our time? Even in your dreamland Russia is reactionary and not in control of the narrative.
You are correct when you say Russia has been constrained in their negligible response the Europe spending billions to kill Russian boys on the front lines. Russia has done nothing and will continue to do nothing because Russia is a yappy little dog, all bark and no bite. Russia only knows how to bully countries weaker than theirs but made a mistake in thinking Ukraine was in this category. Russia will continue to do nothing because they have nothing they can do. The only language Russia understands is violence and they are getting it.
You think Russia is bleeding the west? Delusions of grandeur buddy. If you haven't been paying attention, Putin has loaded the war debt onto Russian banks that are currently creaking. Russian people are withdrawing their savings from banks at increasing rates month on month as fears on a Russian banking collapse intensify. If anyone knows what a banking and state collapse looks like, it is the Russian people. Russia is on the clock here big time.
The only way we see this is when Putin knows all is lost and wants to goad NATO into the fight so he can pretend he lost to NATO instead of the embarrassing reality.
AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · -2 pts · 1d
Mock me all you want. I'm not the only one saying this, read this article by a retired UK commodore. The reality that Europe simply cannot afford a war with Russia any longer is going to hit soon.
Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1d
The crank writing this article should be dismissed as soon as he says,
"Finally, as I explained in January 2025, NATO is a now military shadow of its former self and could not win a conventional war against Russia"
If you read the article all the way to the end it also states that the article was originally drafted in March 2025 but was "thought to be too radical".
A whole lot has changed since March 2025, the EU has not collapsed as he predicted. Russia's economy on the other hand is at deaths door, oil refineries and warehouses burn as Russians que for hours at petrol stations.
The writer of the article called for complete, immediate and total capitulation to every Russian demand and questions NATO's very post cold war existence all while the very country NATO was set up to deter is waging a land war in Europe. This myopic viewpoint is not a serious analysis of geopolitics yet you lap up the drivel because of your own confirmation bias.
That's the curse of the internet, we can all find articles that support our own views and biases. I hope you are comfortable living in your echo chamber as Russia falls apart because some crackpot dissenter supports what you support.
AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · 0 pts · 15h
Every accusation is a projection