A 35-year old Arab national got caught red-handed by Sharjah Police for spying on a family through a CCTV system that he hacked.
Sharjah Police managed to track the accused through their digital investigation department, headed by Lt. Col. Abdull Aziz Al Jarwan.
The family initially intended the CCTV to help ensure the safety of their kids, but after one of the cameras stopped working, the wife asked for the assistance of her colleague, the Arab electronic engineer, to help fix it.
It was on that day that the accused obtained the serial number of the CCTV and the password which he used through an app that allowed him to spy on the family whenever he wished.
The family began to be wary that someone was keeping watch of their movements and reported the matter to the police.
The Sharjah Police then conducted a thorough investigation and found out that several of the CCTV cameras were rerouted to a spyware application that allowed third-party access to their footage. The digital and cybercrime team then worked to detect the location of the hacker who had fixed the camera months before.
The police also found CCTV video files of the family in the accused’s hard drive and computer.
The accused confessed to the crime, saying that it was a personal hobby of his.
Based on the confession of the accused, he was referred to the public prosecution in Sharjah as per a report from Khaleej Times.
A top Sharjah Police official warned families against trusting unknown companies or people who are not reliable enough to install or fix surveillance cameras used in their homes. He pointed out that a number of companies are approved and registered with the Sharjah Police to do such work.
The official also urged residents to stop operation of surveillance cameras in the bedrooms while family members or spouses are in the house.
