ADT Security Technician Caught Spying on Women

ADT home security service is supposed to keep you safe and keep the bad guys out. However, an ADT security technician was caught hacking customer systems to spy on women.

What Happened?

Telesforo Aviles of Dallas, Texas, plead guilty to spying on women customers by illegally accessing their home security cameras. According to the U.S. Attorneys’ Office, Aviles took note of certain attractive female customers and then added his own email address to their accounts so he could spy on them in their homes.

He has been charged with over 200 counts of spying on women while working for his former employer ADT. He faces up to five years in prison. Shockingly, over a four-year period, he spied on female customers more than 9,600 times.

According to Threatpost the U.S. Attorney General said, “This defendant, entrusted with safeguarding customers’ homes, instead intruded on their most intimate moments,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “We are glad to hold him accountable for this disgusting betrayal of trust.”

Avails openly admitted to spying on naked women and couples engaged in sexual intimacy for his own sexual gratification. 

FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno stated that “The defendant used his position of employment to illegally breach the privacy of numerous people. The FBI works with our law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate all cyber-intrusions and hold criminals accountable for their actions. Cyber-intrusions do not only affect businesses but also members of the public. We encourage everyone to practice cyber-hygiene with all their connected devices by reviewing authorized users and routinely changing passwords.”

How Did ADT Respond?

ADT found out about the issue on April 23 when a customer complained that an unrecognized email address was associated with their account. 

ADT explained, “Unfortunately, our investigation revealed that during a service visit, one of our Dallas-area technicians had added his personal email address to this customer’s account to gain unauthorized access, and he had done the same thing during service visits with other customers in the Dallas area.”

ADT did the right thing and terminated Aviles immediately, and reported his actions to the police. Unfortunately, ADT also had the unpleasant task of contacting each and every affected customer to inform them and alleviate any ongoing concerns. 

ADT released a statement which said,

“We apologize to the customers affected by the actions of this former employee and deeply regret this incident,” ADT’s statement said. “The ADT mission is to help protect and connect people with the things they love most. Fully earning this trust back may take time, but nothing is more important to us and to those who have served our customers under the ADT banner for the last 145 years.”

“We are grateful to the Dallas FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for holding Telesforo Aviles responsible for a federal crime.”

How You Can Stay Safe from Incidents Like This

Just because the company you hire is a security company, don’t take anything for granted. Check out all your accounts regularly, looking for any irregularities or information you did not enter or do not recognize. 

The ADT incident was caught when a customer found Aviles’ email address loaded into their account. Your best defense against intruders, whether insiders or outsiders, is staying on the offensive and always keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. Other tips include:

• Secure all your accounts with 2-factor or multi-factor authentication.

• Only use long, strong passwords on all your accounts.

• Never reuse the same passwords on multiple accounts. 

Secure your network with monitoring (IDStrong.com provides this service) that detects intruders and unauthorized use of your equipment.