How Easy Is It to Hack a Surveillance Camera — and Who Benefits from It?

This morning, February 6, the medical office from which surveilance cameras recordings of women undergoing gynaecological check-ups were leaked to adult websites was vandalised, with eggs thrown at its windows. The wife of Dr Venelin Ivanov, who was detained in connection with the case, said that the couple had also been subjected to constant verbal attacks. She denied reports that she had been detained and said she intends to pursue her rights through the courts. Investigators are treating a hacker attack as the primary cause of the leaks.

Who could be behind it? The BNT team spoke with cybersecurity expert Prof. Dr Ilin Savov.

After Footage of Women Undergoing Gynaecological Check-ups Were Leaked on to Adult Websites: Authorities Search Eight Addresses in Sofia

“The surveillance cameras are like child’s play for hackers. The cheaper the device, the easier it is to target,” said Savov. According to the international cybersecurity expert, there are businesses and government institutions in the world that have been secretly monitored by criminal groups or other countries for years.

Prof. Dr Ilin Savov, international cybersecurity expert: “It is not possible to attribute this to a specific country. These are cyber consortia that target technical devices in order to seize personal data, misuse it, and sell it on the dark web for purposes of blackmail and coercion.”

How is footage stolen?

Prof. Dr Ilin Savov: “One method is live streaming. Another is cloud storage: once the data is recorded, it can be redirected to a server outside our country. This does not necessarily mean that the perpetrator is abroad — IP addresses are merely a mask used by cybercriminals.”

The same is true in the case of the gynaecology clinic in Sofia. Prosecutors reported that the IP address used to generate the videos was traced to a foreign location. The doctor, who was briefly detained, declined to speak on camera today on the advice of his lawyer. His wife, however, denied that she had been detained and said that they continue to face constant attacks.

This morning, eggs were thrown at the clinic’s windows, though it remained open. In support of the doctors, several of their patients came forward and, in an open letter, called for balanced media coverage and respect for the dignity of medical staff.

There have already been several cases worldwide in which perpetrators of similar crimes have been convicted.

Prof. Dr Ilin Savov, international cybersecurity expert: “In Scotland, a doctor was convicted for installing cameras in the bathroom of his home, and in Australia, a real estate agent received more than four years in prison.”

To reduce hacker attacks in Bulgaria, stricter legislation and harsher penalties are needed, Savov says.

Prof. Dr Ilin Savov: “Data stolen from gynaecology clinics can be used to blackmail public officials. Footage can also be manipulated using artificial intelligence to produce pornographic material featuring specific individuals.”

Under Bulgarian law, anyone who records audio or video without a person’s knowledge is criminally liable. Only security services are legally permitted to conduct such surveillance.