WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Webcams at airports and other critical infrastructure can be used as terrorist surveillance tools, a new homeland security bulletin warns.
The bulletin, issued Jan. 10 was a "joint assessment" by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, department spokesman Kirk Whitworth told United Press International.
"These types of (threat assessment) products are distributed regularly as issues arise" to state, local and federal law enforcement, and to private sector owners of critical infrastructure, he said, to warn them of "the nefarious uses to which everyday technology can be put by criminals and terrorists."
Whitworth declined to comment further on the bulletin's contents, saying they were restricted for security reasons, but one official authorized to brief the media on background confirmed press reports Friday that it was titled "Web cams: a potential terrorist planning tool."
The bulletin cited a posting on a Jihadi Web site headed "You Can Spy on the Enemy," which provided a link to a live webcam at a U.S. international airport.
Like many public Webcam sites, the airport allowed the viewer to control live video cameras via the Internet, able to move and zoom in on different areas of the terminal and other airport locations.
Airport authorities disabled the Webcam after they were notified of the posting, Fox News reported Friday.
"The Islamic extremist Web site posting and its reference to using Webcams to 'spy' on airports demonstrate the continued intent of Islamic terrorists to conduct surveillance on the aviation industry and the possible use of Webcams to surveil other critical infrastructure," Fox quoted the bulletin as warning.
