Foreign News
Hackers steal maternity ward CCTV videos in India cybercrime racket
Hacked CCTV videos from a maternity hospital in India have been sold on Telegram, police say, raising serious questions about privacy and security in a country where such cameras have become commonplace.
Earlier this year, police in Gujarat state were alerted by the media to videos on YouTube – some showed pregnant women undergoing medical exams and receiving injections in their buttocks – in a maternity hospital in a city.
The videos had a link directing viewers to Telegram channels to buy longer videos.
The director of the hospital told the BBC that the cameras had been installed for the safety of doctors. The BBC is not naming the city or hospital to protect the identity of the women in the videos. None of them have filed a police complaint.
Police say their investigation uncovered a massive cybercrime racket where sensitive footage from at least 50,000 CCTVs from across the country was stolen by hackers and sold on the internet.
CCTVs have become ubiquitous in India, especially in urban areas. They are installed in malls, offices, hospitals, schools, private apartment complexes and even inside people’s homes.
Experts warn that while CCTV boosts security, poorly installed or managed systems can threaten privacy. In India, cameras are often handled by staff without cybersecurity training, and some domestically manufactured models are reportedly easily exploitable.
In 2018, a tech worker in Bengaluru city said that his webcam was hacked, and that the hacker demanded payment in exchange for not sharing his private videos. In 2023, a YouTuber reportedly found out that his home CCTV had been hacked after private videos went viral.
Last year, the federal government asked states to not procure CCTVs from suppliers with a history of security and data breaches and also introduced new rules to improve cyber security of CCTV cameras. But hacking incidents like these are still reported.
In Gujarat, police say they ended up discovering a “network of individuals spread across the country”.
“They were hacking into the video surveillance systems – or CCTV systems – of hospitals, schools, colleges, corporate offices and even the bedrooms of private individuals in multiple states,” Lavina Sinha, who heads the Ahmedabad cyber crime department investigating the case, told reporters.
Hardik Makadiya, Gujarat’s top cybercrime official, says videos were sold for 800–2,000 rupees ($9-22; £7-17, with Telegram channels offering live CCTV feeds via subscription.
Police have registered a case under various sections of the law, including violating a female patient’s privacy, publishing obscene material, voyeurism and cyber terrorism – which is a non-bailable offence. They say that they reached out to Telegram and YouTube, and the videos have been taken down.
Since February, police have arrested eight people in the case – four from Maharashtra and others from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, and Uttarakhand. They remain in judicial custody as the case proceeds in court.
Yash Koshti, lawyer for three of the accused, denied the allegations, saying they were not hackers or cyber criminals and that someone else carried out the breach.
Cybercrime investigator Ritesh Bhatia warns that weakly protected CCTV and home networks are easy targets and must be properly secured.
“Wireless CCTV systems help you access the footage remotely, like on your smartphone or laptop. But once a system is connected to the web, it’s easy for hackers to decode its IP address and default password. And once they get into the system, they can see or record live footage, download it or even shut down the system,” Bhatia says.
He says that one way to secure surveillance systems is to change IP addresses and the default password.
Bhatia advises using a robust password that mixes letters, numbers, and symbols and cannot be found in a dictionary, and recommends periodic audits by a cybersecurity professional.
He adds that CCTV manufacturers also bear responsibility, and their packaging should clearly warn users to replace default passwords with strong ones – similar to cigarette packet health warnings.
Mr Makadiya told the BBC that many of the hacked CCTVs used default passwords – like Admin123 – or weak ones.
“The hackers used brute force (the use of certain programmes to generate thousands of letter-number password combinations) to break into these systems and access videos,” he said.
Audrey Dmello of Majlis, a legal centre for women’s and children’s rights, highlights the ubiquity of CCTVs in India, often installed without consent. She urges organisations, especially in sensitive spaces, to ensure their systems are properly secured.
“Organisations and institutions that set up surveillance systems, especially in sensitive spaces, must see to it that their systems are adequately secured. It’s an absolute must,” she says.
The director of one of the affected hospitals told the BBC the CCTVs in exam and injection rooms were meant to protect doctors from false allegations. He added that the cameras have since been removed from sensitive areas.
Police in Gujarat told the BBC that neither the hospital nor any patient had come forward to file a formal complaint. The complaint was finally lodged by a police officer.
“Female patients fear that their identity will be revealed. Therefore, they are not willing to lodge a complaint,” said an officer.
Ms Dmello says that the shame women face around such incidents only adds to its horrific nature.
“When there is a sexual angle involved, the victim is re-victimised because of the patriarchal nature of Indian society. If we want women to assert their rights and we want criminals to be brought to justice, we, as a society, should first stop shaming and blaming women for the crime,” she says.
[BBC]
A rescue diver has died while searching for the bodies of a group of Italians who died in a scuba-diving accident in the Maldives.
Staff Sgt Mohamed Mahdhee was taken to hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries, a government spokesman told the BBC on Saturday.
Five Italians died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of around 50m (164ft) on Thursday. So far, the body of one of them is thought to have been recovered, in a cave at a depth of around 60m (197ft).
The incident is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu travelled to Vaavu Atoll on Saturday to observe the search operations.
“Eight rescue divers went into the water today. When they surfaced, they realised Mahdhee didn’t come up,” Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesman told the BBC.
The other divers immediately went into the water again and they found Mahdhee had blacked out.
The Maldives military has described the operation as very high risk, with unfavourable weather conditions.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani sent condolences: “These days of grief for Italy are compounded by the news that one of your brave soldiers… died while attempting to dive to reach the bodies of our fellow Italians.”
“This tragedy unites Italy and the Maldives in grief and respect for the victims,” he added.
Four of the Italian divers were part of a University of Genoa team, including professor of ecology Monica Montefalcone, her daughter and two researchers. The fifth was a boat operations manager and diving instructor.
The five entered the water at Vaavu Atoll on Thursday morning, local media said, and were reported missing when they failed to resurface later on.
Police said the weather was rough in the area, about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Male. A yellow warning was issued for passenger boats and fishermen.
Shareef said recreational scuba divers were only allowed to dive up to a depth of 30m and it was not clear why the Italians went into a cave that’s 60m under water.
Italy’s foreign ministry said earlier that another 20 Italian nationals aboard the Duke of York yacht, from which the five divers took off, were unharmed and receiving assistance from the Embassy of Italy in Colombo, Sri Lanka
[BBC]
At least eight people have been killed, and dozens injured, after a freight train crashed into a public bus in Thailand’s capital.
Flames engulfed the bus and nearby vehicles near an airport rail link station in the centre of Bangkok Saturday afternoon.
The city’s emergency services Erawan Medical Center confirmed the number of deaths, while Bangkok police chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit told AFP news agency at least 35 people were injured.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat said that all the bodies were found on the bus. It was not yet clear how many people were on board in total.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered an investigation into the crash, according to a statement from his office.
Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Bangkok, said the crash unfolded around 3:40pm local time (08:40 GMT), when the bus appeared to get stuck on an intersection with the rail line after the safety barriers descended.
As the freight train rammed into the stationary bus and continued travelling, it dragged several nearby vehicles along with it before the bus burst into flames.
Siripong would not confirm whether the bus had stopped on the railway track or discuss reports that the barriers may not have lowered properly, saying the matter still needs to be investigated.
Firefighters and rescue crews were dispatched to pull people from the wreckage and battle the flames as motorcyclists and passersby attempted to redirect traffic.
The fire has since been brought under control.
[Aljazeera]
New Zealand’s Māori Queen Te Arikinui Kuini Nga Wai hono i te po has met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
The meeting with the British monarch was Te Arikinui’s first since she became queen in 2024, following the death of her father, Kiingi Tuheitia.
The visit marks a near 200-year relationship between the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and the crown, formalised in the Treaty of Waitangi, one of New Zealand’s founding documents.
A spokesperson for the queen says the two discussed the former king’s death in what was a “heartfelt” discussion, as well as the strengthening of their relationship.
Earlier this week, the Māori queen was also welcomed by Prince William to Windsor Castle.
In a post on Instagram, Prince William acknowledged the visit, saying, “it was a pleasure to meet with the Queen.”
A statement released after the meeting from the Kīngitanga said the Māori queen discussed a range of global topics with Prince William.
“Te Arikinui affirmed her belief in the power of indigenous knowledge and intergenerational stewardship to help solve the world’s environmental and social challenges.”
Te Arikinui was crowned in 2024 after the death of her father – becoming only the second Māori queen, the first being her grandmother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
The Māori monarchy dates back to the 19th Century, when different Māori tribes decided to create a unifying figure similar to that of a European monarch in order to try to prevent the widespread loss of land to New Zealand’s British colonisers and to preserve Māori culture. It is a largely ceremonial and symbolic role.
[BBC]
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