Security Camera Footage Vulnerable to Outside Access; Investigation Finds 3,000 Pieces Exposed Online

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, November 26, 2025

At least 3,000 pieces of video footage from security cameras inside buildings or on private premises in Japan were vulnerable to outside access, according to a joint investigation by The Yomiuri Shimbun and Trend Micro Inc., a Tokyo-based information security company.

The Yomiuri and Trend Micro had already discovered earlier this month that about 500 pieces of live footage taken from network cameras installed in such places and connected to the internet were publicly available on overseas websites.

However, in the team’s latest investigation — conducted in mid-November —  it was found that 3,000 pieces of footage could be seen without going through overseas websites. This highlights the fact that many security cameras nationwide are left unguarded.

In the earlier research, the Yomiuri and Trend Micro identified seven websites operating overseas that publicly release live footage from network cameras in Japan. As of October, the seven websites had uploaded about 500 pieces of footage taken from cameras installed in places including daycare centers and food factories.

In its mid-November investigation, the team used an overseas service that allows users to search through data that the service has collected from internet-connected devices worldwide. The Yomiuri and Trend Micro checked if there was any accessible footage taken from security cameras set in Japan besides the 500 pieces released by the seven websites.

The service revealed about 750 feeds showing indoor footage and about 2,200 showing outdoor premises.

The indoor footage most frequently showed the entrance halls of condominiums, followed by facilities related to children or elderly people, medical institutions, residential offices, commercial complexes and food factories. Outdoor premises included parking lots, station platforms, port facilities and cattle barns.

Some footage matched that from the initial foreign websites.

The IP addresses of the security cameras showed that cameras in Tokyo accounted for the most feeds that were vulnerable to outside access — 700 feeds of both indoor and outdoor footage. This was followed by Fukuoka Prefecture with 290, Osaka Prefecture with 220 and Hokkaido with 210.

Many of the cameras appeared to be publicly accessible because they lack password authentication procedures.

“There must be a considerable amount of footage not included in the search results, so the findings likely represent just the tip of the iceberg,” said Kobe University Prof. Emeritus Masakatsu Morii, an expert in cybersecurity. “Improvements in internet search functions make it easier to pinpoint locations where cameras are installed, increasing the risk of being victimized by criminals.”

He urged security camera users to carefully check their settings.

Before conducting the investigations, The Yomiuri Shimbun consulted with a lawyer specializing in information security. It confirmed that analyzing footage using the overseas service does not violate such laws as the Law on Prohibition of Unauthorized Computer Access.