A fifth of mobile phone (20 per cent) and laptop (21 per cent) users, and 15 per cent of tablet users – often resort to extreme measures when it comes to disabling their webcam.
According to research by Kaspersky Lab, 40 per cent attempt to disable it by closing the icon, while 36 per cent physically cover the camera with blue tack or a sticker. It found that up to 90 per cent of UK adults now own a smartphone, yet two-thirds are unaware that cyber criminals can send malicious software to take over their mobile device camera, stealing private, stored images and taking some very interesting ones of their own.
Commenting, Christopher Boyd, malware intelligence analyst at Malwarebytes, told IT Security Guru that it is true that certain elements of the cyber crime community are interested in stealing and snapping images from hijacked digital devices, and there are a number of obvious barriers that one can put in place to ensure safer ‘private moments.’
“For example, use a secondary layer of protection such as an anti-malware, close the laptop lid, or make sure the phone isn’t pointed in your general direction when the mood takes you,” he said.
“Simply covering the cam with tape remains the best option for paranoid owners of laptops and mobile devices, and many enterprising companies now sell ‘cam covers’ for those who want to take no chances.”
