Hackers breach thousands of security cameras, exposing Tesla Shanghai factory and US jails

  • The hacker group says it wanted to show the prevalence of surveillance
  • The video footage was captured from Sequoia-backed start-up Verkada

A Tesla sign is seen on the Shanghai Gigafactory of the US electric car maker on December 30, 2019. Photo: Reuters

A group of hackers say they breached a massive trove of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley start-up Verkada Inc, gaining access to live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside hospitals, companies, police departments, prisons and schools.

Companies whose footage was exposed include carmaker Tesla Inc and software provider Cloudflare Inc. In addition, hackers were able to view video from inside women’s health clinics, psychiatric hospitals and the offices of Verkada itself. Some of the cameras, including in hospitals, use facial-recognition technology to identify and categorise people captured on the footage. The hackers say they also have access to the full video archive of all Verkada customers.

Print option is available for subscribers only.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.