Security researcher finds unencrypted video on bodycam from Fort Huachuca
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A security researcher who bought a used body camera on eBay was able to extract audio and video of Fort Huachuca military police officers at work.
A security researcher who bought a used body camera on eBay was able to extract audio and video of Fort Huachuca military police officers at work.
The researcher, who goes by d0tslash on Twitter, removed the microSD card from an early-version Axon camera launched in 2013 and discontinued in 2015. He was then able to “extract the un-encrypted files, which were not protected by a password, using a tool called Foremost,” according to a report in the Arizona Mirror.
Foremost, is a forensics tool developed by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in 2001, allowed d0tslash to locate video files within the mass of unencrypted data.
The researcher posted some screenshots to Twitter to authenticate the unencrypted video. “Zero encryption. [It] was just in the raw,” d0tslash told Vice. The extracted videos show screenshots of officers searching a house and filling out paperwork.
According to Vice, used body cameras can be easily found for sale online, and several other hackers chimed in describing their own work pulling data from the devices.
DJ Ir0ngruv, who also extracted data from SD cards in used Axon body cameras he bought using a local trading app, described the hack as “stupid easy.”
“The type of footage on them covered the range from traffic stops, responding to calls at retail stores, calls to houses etc,” he told Vice. “I skimmed through enough to find out that they weren't from a military installation because that is super toxic.”
Many of the security researchers contacted by Vice said they “only looked at the footage to confirm the cameras’ origins, and intend to return the devices to authorities to avoid any possible legal issues.”
“We are aware of this issue and have launched an investigation looking into the matter,” an Axon representative told the Arizona Mirror. “We are also reevaluating our processes to better emphasize proper disposal procedures for our customers.”