Technology has definitely made our lives easier, but when it falls into the wrong hands, a living example of how dangerous it can be has emerged from Assam. We often see in films and web series how an eccentric lover spies to keep an eye on his girlfriend. But what happened in Shribhoomi district of Assam has erased the difference between reel and real life. Here, a student studying in class 12 hacked the CCTV camera of his girlfriend’s house to keep an eye on her. He was watching every activity of his girlfriend’s house 24 hours on his phone. When the neighbors caught him, everyone was shocked to know the truth.
The incident took place in Shribhoomi district of Assam. The matter came to light on November 29 when people of a residential complex saw a boy hovering around the building in a suspicious condition. This boy is said to be the boyfriend of a girl living in the same complex. The neighbors became suspicious that this boy often keeps roaming around the building without any reason. When the suspicion deepened, the local people caught him and started interrogating him.
At first the boy kept making excuses, but when people interrogated him strictly and checked his mobile, everyone present there was stunned. A video was playing live on the boy’s mobile screen. On looking carefully, it was found that this was not a film, but CCTV footage of a flat in the same building. Yes, live video from his girlfriend’s house!
The scary truth of ‘digital voyeurism’
During interrogation, it came to light that the boy had allegedly gained access to the CCTV system installed in the girl’s house. Through his phone, he was watching when his girlfriend was coming home, when she was leaving, who was coming to the house and what she was doing.
This is being called a kind of ‘digital stalking’. This action of the boy not only violated the privacy of the girl, but also created a fear regarding security in the entire area. People are surprised to think that the CCTV which they install for their security has become a weapon for spying on them. As the matter escalated, people handed the boy over to the police. Since the accused is a 12th class student and a minor, he will be booked under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Debate on the Internet: Is it love or illness?
As soon as the video and news of this incident went viral on social media, people reacted strongly to it. The video of the boy being taken away by police and scolded by neighbors has sparked debate on the internet. Many users have compared this incident with Netflix’s famous web series ‘You’, in which the main character ‘Joe Goldberg’ takes the help of technology to keep an eye on his girlfriends and gradually becomes a psycho killer.
An Instagram user wrote, I don’t understand why people have become so ‘possessive’ these days? This is not love, this is mental illness. Another user commented, “This is the result of ‘romanticizing’ craze and obsession in films. The youth think that keeping an eye on someone 24 hours a day is a sign of love, whereas it is a crime.”
technical error
At the same time, some people looked at it from a technical perspective. One user advised, CCTV companies give only one ‘default password’. People do not change it and this mistake costs them dearly.
The big question: How did he do it?
- This incident has exposed the security of smart devices installed in our homes. Although the police have not yet revealed which method the boy adopted to hack the system, but according to cyber experts and social media users, there could be two main reasons for this:
- Default Password: Most CCTV cameras come with a username like ‘Admin’ and a password like ‘12345’ or ‘admin’. People forget to change it at the time of installation or become lazy. Hackers (or lovers in this case) easily find the default password of that camera model on the internet and break into the system.
- Some internet users also say that 100% the girl must have given him access. However, this is just a speculation. If the boy has secretly stolen the password from the girl’s phone or laptop, or has accessed the camera using the Wi-Fi network, then it is a direct cyber crime.
Why is this trend dangerous?
This incident is not just a story of a boy and a girl, but it points towards the growing distrust and misuse of technology in the relationships of Gen-J and the new generation. Today there is a flood of tutorials like How to hack CCTV on YouTube and Google. These platforms made for learning technology are now becoming tools of espionage. When there is less trust and more suspicion in relationships, technology is used for this type of ‘surveillance’.
How to protect your privacy?
Everyone needs to learn a lesson from this incident in Assam. If you have CCTV cameras installed in your house, then do this work today itself.
- Change default password: As soon as the camera is installed, change the password given by the company to a strong password.
- Wi-Fi Security: Do not share the password of your home Wi-Fi with any outsider.
- Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): If your camera app has this feature, then definitely turn it on. With this, even if someone knows your password, he will not be able to see the camera without the OTP received on your phone.
- Software Update: Keep updating the firmware of your CCTV system from time to time.
