Security: Brazil
São Paulo’s Civil Police have opened an inquiry into a municipal guard (GCM) suspected of leaking logins and passwords for Smart Sampa, the city’s camera and facial-recognition surveillance system. The guard, whose name has not been released, has been suspended pending a confidential disciplinary process that could lead to dismissal.
Key Facts
—What. Police are investigating a city guard suspected of sharing access data to Smart Sampa, São Paulo’s camera network.
—Scale. Reports put the exposed access at up to 75,000 cameras, municipal and private.
—Steps. The guard is suspended, and police seized a hard drive from the guard’s computer.
—City position. City Hall says the system is operating normally, with no sign of outside attacks.
—Power Index. Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 74.2 points (November 2026 edition).
A city programme that watches over Latin America’s largest city is now under police investigation over who shared its passwords. The guard is suspended and has not been named.
What Police Are Investigating
The inquiry is run by the Division of Investigations into Crimes Against the Public Administration, part of the São Paulo state civil police’s Department for the Protection of Citizens, according to the police. The city’s Municipal Secretariat of Urban Security says it asked the police to investigate after it found links to the system being shared irregularly.
Police have seized a hard drive from the guard’s computer, which will be examined by forensic experts. One line of inquiry is that the guard shared logins and passwords, and links to cameras owned by partner companies, that open the Smart Sampa system.
How the Leak Came to Light
Smart Sampa is a city programme that links cameras across São Paulo to a control centre, and some cameras use facial recognition. It is a flagship project of Mayor Ricardo Nunes.
On 20 October a Brazilian news outlet reported that logins for about 58,000 municipal cameras had been exposed online for about 11 months. The São Paulo state prosecutors’ office has since opened a preliminary procedure, a first review before any formal case.
Nunes, of the MDB party (Brazilian Democratic Movement), blamed a guard who he said had shared a password, and said the system remains secure. A second flaw came to light on 3 November, when links to about 17,000 partner-company cameras were reported to have been open without a password for five days before being taken offline.
A cybersecurity source said that flaw lay in the code of a website tied to Sentinelx, a technology company that supplies the system’s platform. The city denied the links were public and called it an illegal leak of a confidential file.
What the City Has Changed
After the first leak, the city says access to the camera system now requires facial recognition and multi-factor authentication. Investigators have asked for the city’s contract with Smart City SP, the private consortium that runs the programme.
The urban security department said on Friday that the programme keeps operating normally. It said there is no evidence of attacks from outside or of damage to its systems.
What It Means for Readers Abroad
São Paulo is home to many US and European companies, and its camera network links public streets with private partner cameras. The case raises questions about who can reach a surveillance network of this size.
Facial-recognition systems handle sensitive data, so leaked logins carry higher stakes. It is not yet known whether anyone misused the access.
What Is Not Known
The name of the suspect and any charges are not known. It is also not known whether camera video was copied or sold, or whether others had the same access.
Two separate exposures are counted: about 58,000 municipal cameras in October and about 17,000 partner cameras in November, roughly 75,000 in total. The city says it saw no outside attack.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Smart Sampa?
It is São Paulo’s city programme that links public and partner cameras, some with facial recognition, to a control centre. The city uses it to find wanted and missing people.
Who is being investigated?
Police are investigating a municipal guard suspected of leaking logins and camera links. The guard is suspended, and the name has not been released.
Sources
Sources: São Paulo state Public Security Secretariat note and Municipal Secretariat of Urban Security statement of 13 November 2026 (São Paulo City Hall); São Paulo state prosecutors’ preliminary procedure of 20 October 2026 (São Paulo state prosecutors’ office). Read next: Treasury data leak exposes Pix keys, São Paulo police killings fall, Police split over bank fraud probe and Brazil news.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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