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Calling it “disgusting betrayal of trust”, US prosecutors in the Northern District of Texas announced on Thursday that an ADT home security technician pleaded guilty to repeatedly hacking customer videos to spy on women.
Violations of customer privacy have affected 220 customer accounts, prosecutors say. The technician, Telesforo Aviles, 35, admits to having seen these accounts 9,600 times over a period of four and a half years. Now he faces up to five years in federal prison on charges of computer fraud.
According to the petition, Aviles admitted to violating company policy by routinely adding his email address to ADT Pulse’s customer accounts, giving him real-time access to those customers’ video feeds. In some cases, he acted without the client’s knowledge; in others, he told the customer that he needed temporary access to test the system. Once there, Aviles admitted, he displayed the video footage of the women he found attractive, then repeatedly watched those images for sexual satisfaction, including watching women undress and couples having sex.
“This defendant, charged with protecting clients’ homes, has instead intruded on his most intimate moments,” said Attorney General Prerak Shah. “We are happy to hold you accountable for this disgusting betrayal of trust.”
ADT said it discovered the breach last April after a customer complained about an unauthorized email on an account. After investigation, ADT found that Aviles had added his email to several accounts throughout the Dallas area for the purpose of improperly viewing customer feeds.
At that point, unauthorized access was revoked, Aviles was dismissed and referred to law enforcement, and ADT notified customers of the violation.
“We apologize to customers affected by the actions of this former employee and deeply regret this incident,” wrote the company in an April statement.
“Our customers trust ADT with their security and protection,” says the statement. “We understand that this incident puts that trust at risk and is completely unacceptable. We will make extraordinary efforts to regain that trust.”
To this end, the company claims to have implemented “technical and procedural solutions” to prevent this type of abuse from happening again and adds that it has hired third-party specialists to assist in a complete review of the company’s privacy and security practices. The company has pledged to support law enforcement with “whatever is necessary to help bring justice to the victims of this former employee”.
“We are grateful to the Dallas FBI and the Public Prosecutor’s Office for making Telesforo Aviles responsible for a federal crime,” the company said in a statement released on Friday.
ADT has been sued in the case and is seeking to resolve its legal liability through arbitration courts. An ADT spokesman said the company identified and contacted all of Mr. Aviles’ victims.
“We are using all the resources at our disposal to help ensure your safety, provide peace of mind and try to resolve any concerns you may have,” the company posted.