A powerful, focused laser pointer beam can indeed disable a CCTV camera by overloading its light-sensitive sensor, the website infohub.kz reports, citing Engadget.
In films and TV series, characters often blind surveillance cameras with ordinary laser pointers. In real life, a powerful focused beam can overload a CMOS or CCD light-sensitive sensor. This causes temporary glare in the frame, and with prolonged exposure it burns out pixels and leaves dark spots.
In 2021, a Florida resident damaged Church of Scientology cameras this way, causing more than $2,000 in damage, although the device still managed to capture him.
Doing this by accident or quickly is not possible. A serious breakdown requires a pointer with a power above 5 mW, which is banned from open sale in many countries. In addition, holding the beam steadily on the lens from several meters away is incredibly difficult due to the natural shaking of the hands.
According to researchers, without a special mount it is practically impossible to disable a modern camera. To protect equipment, experts advise mounting cameras higher up, using pan-tilt models and adjusting glare sensors.