This from Silicon Beat. It is possible for a cyber thug to take over your laptop web camera and take pictures or videos of whatever is happening in its range of vision. It is possible to activate the webcam without turning on the red light that usually indicates camera activity.If your laptop is in your bedroom….hmmm.
In case you think this is unlikely, consider the case of Jared Abrahams who recently pled guilty to secretly photographing at least 12 different women, including Cassidy Wolfe a former Miss Teen USA winner.
This trick is also used by the FBI, NSA and other law enforcement and espionage agencies. So that goofy pal of yours with the duct tape over his web cam aperture – maybe not so goofy after all.
If you are not one to put tape on your laptop, there are inexpensive web cam covers that can be clipped over the camera for about $6.00
JAN
About the Author:
I am a cybersecurity and IT instructor, cybersecurity analyst, pen-tester, trainer, and speaker. I am an owner of the WyzCo Group Inc. In addition to consulting on security products and services, I also conduct security audits, compliance audits, vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. I also teach Cybersecurity Awareness Training classes. I work as an information technology and cybersecurity instructor for several training and certification organizations. I have worked in corporate, military, government, and workforce development training environments I am a frequent speaker at professional conferences such as the Minnesota Bloggers Conference, Secure360 Security Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, the (ISC)2 World Congress 2016, and the ISSA International Conference 2017, and many local community organizations, including Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, and several school districts. I have been blogging on cybersecurity since 2006 at http://wyzguyscybersecurity.com