For years, security experts have cried themselves hoarse over the rapid proliferation of surveillance cameras. Adversaries hacking internet-connected CCTVs (Closed Circuit Televisions) to gather caches of sensitive information is bad enough, but the ongoing war in the Middle East has revealed the more sinister uses such hacking can enable. Cameras—at traffic junctions, buildings and city streets—are being repurposed for target tracking and precision strikes. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) allow militaries to rapidly analyse vast caches of footage, enabling precise identification of targets. Israel hacked Tehran’s surveillance camera grid to track—every face and vehicle was tabulated over days to create a mosaic of daily routines—and then assassinate Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials on February 28.
