Russia's security services shut down parts of a special surveillance system protecting President Vladimir Putin after the killing of Iran's supreme leader exposed vulnerabilities in AI-powered surveillance. Engineers worked to seal the system from the internet before restoring it, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The extraordinary precautions followed Israeli intelligence harvesting vast video footage from Iran's traffic cameras using AI to pinpoint Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's location. The attack killed several top security officials, demonstrating how AI can parse millions of hours of video to identify targets.

The incident reveals how advances in AI have transformed surveillance capabilities, allowing governments to pinpoint specific behaviors in vast visual datasets. This technological leap presents both opportunities and risks for security systems worldwide, potentially reshaping how governments protect leaders against modern threats.