Well, that’s disturbing. A former ADT technician has admitted to exploiting the company’s security cameras to spy on clients having sex in their own homes.
On Thursday, 35-year-old Telesforo Aviles pleaded guilty to illegally accessing the security video feeds belonging to about 200 customers in the Dallas, Texas area, according to the Justice Department.
Last year, police arrested Aviles, but at the time, the motives behind the spying remained unclear. Federal officials now say they understand why. “Mr. Aviles took note of which homes had attractive women, then repeatedly logged into these customers’ accounts in order to view their footage for sexual gratification, he admits,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
“Plea papers indicate he watched numerous videos of naked women and couples engaging in sexual activity inside their homes,” the department added.
The spying began around November 2015 and persisted until last March. Aviles was able to gain access through the ADT Pulse system, which can let customers view their home security video feeds via a mobile app. Normally, only a customer’s email address should be registered to a Pulse account. But during the setup process, Aviles would add his own personal email address to the account, giving him access.
“In some instances, he claimed he needed to add himself temporarily in order to ‘test’ the system; in other instances, he added himself without their knowledge,” the Justice Department said.
The court documents go on to suggest Aviles may have used the access to spy on customer’s children. He now faces up to five years in federal prison for committing computer fraud, which is a surprisingly low penalty, given the crime.
ADT learned of the spying last year when a customer noticed an unauthorized email address had been added to their Pulse account. As a result, the FBI is urging users to review who has access to their most important online accounts.
“We encourage everyone to practice cyber hygiene with all their connected devices by reviewing authorized users and routinely changing passwords. If you become the victim of a cybercrime, please contact the FBI through ic3.gov or 1-800-CALL FBI,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno.
In a statement, ADT said: “We are grateful to the Dallas FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for holding Telesforo Aviles responsible for a federal crime.”
In response to the spying, affected ADT customers sued the company for damages. However, ADT has said it’s been working to arbitrate the claims out of court.
