Jump to content

The FBI Can Turn On Your Webcam Without You Knowing


Matsuda

Recommended Posts

fbi-sfSpan.jpg

It seems that the FBI is also quite capable of hacking into your PC to access your webcam and other information without you even knowing, providing of course the malicious software is loaded onto the target PC.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Marcus Thomas, the former assistant director of the FBI's Operational Technology Division said they have been able to do so "without triggering the light that lets users know it is recording" for years now.

Thomas also pointed out that the technology is "mainly" used for terrorist operations or the "most serious" of criminal investigations.

The report cites an incident where the FBI tracked a suspect called "Mo" who made a series of threats to detonate bombs at universities and airports across the United States last year. The FBI hacker team was able to create a piece of software that used Yahoo Mail as the delivery method and was designed to log the sites he visited, as well as the general whereabouts of the computer.

Although the FBI did manage to gather a ton of information on Mo, it's probably not as useful as they will have hoped, given that he is now believed to be in Iran. Still, if he ever does attempt a return to the US, at least the FBI will have plenty of info about him - although the means by which some of that intel was gathered will surely give some pause for thought for other users worried about government surveillance getting out of hand.




search_button.gifSource

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 20
  • Views 1.9k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • mazigh

    3

  • janedoe

    3

  • jackieo

    2

  • AlexCross

    1

Nothing new and hardly a surprise. Creeps without any technical know-how have been using RATs to hack webcams and spy on unsuspecting women for years. It is but obvious that agencies like the FBI and NSA are capable of much worse.

Edited by janedoe
Link to comment
Share on other sites


They will have a very difficult time turning mine on as I don't have or use any.

Umm... duh! :P

Give them time though; one day I'm sure they'll hack into your optical sensors and pull the images directly from them.

:P I don't use a webcam :lol:

It's not about using, it's about having one. Obviously if you don't even have the hardware there's nothing to be hacked.

Edited by janedoe
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I think they still can re-enable it if they could access your computer :P

Yeah, but why would they need to use the webcam to spy on you if your house is already under surveillance and they have physical access to your PC? ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I think they still can re-enable it if they could access your computer :P

Yeah, but why would they need to use the webcam to spy on you if your house is already under surveillance and they have physical access to your PC? ;)

Sometimes they need to take a pic for you so they are more sure about your identity, kind of verification I think XD

Link to comment
Share on other sites


youarefinished

I think they still can re-enable it if they could access your computer :P

Yeah, but why would they need to use the webcam to spy on you if your house is already under surveillance and they have physical access to your PC? ;)

Sometimes they need to take a pic for you so they are more sure about your identity, kind of verification I think XD

Lol, you know a lot about their procedures. :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Hey guys!

I think FBI knows very well what they are doing. Sometimes they just play stupid, but the power they have in their hands it's incredible. If you add to that the NSA, you get a perfect world surveillance machine. Also, we must be more carefull with our privacy setings when surfing online. For what I am concerned, I always use a VPN when I go online. Is anybody else using a VPN regularly?

:showoff:

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 2 weeks later...

2 words. DUCT TAPE . :showoff:

ALSO REMOVE ALL WEBCAM SOFTWARE. Go into audio properties and turn off the mic

and/or go into device manager and disble it.

http://www.funtechtips.com/2013/08/you-should-have-duct-tape-on-your-web-camera/

I think they still can re-enable it if they could access your computer :P

?? Back-door network install of cam drivers and software? not likely.

I can always take my laptop apart, and just unlpug the cam/mic from the mainboard, or just remove it altogether.

(Thats very tempting i might just do that, i never use my webcam anyways.)

Edited by jackieo
Link to comment
Share on other sites


2 words. DUCT TAPE . :showoff:

ALSO REMOVE ALL WEBCAM SOFTWARE. Go into audio properties and turn off the mic

and/or go into device manager and disble it.

http://www.funtechtips.com/2013/08/you-should-have-duct-tape-on-your-web-camera/

I think they still can re-enable it if they could access your computer :P

?? Back-door network install of cam drivers and software? not likely.

I can always take my laptop apart, and just unlpug the cam/mic from the mainboard, or just remove it altogether.

(Thats very tempting i might just do that, i never use my webcam anyways.)

Why not likely? I already found an article talking about how the US treated a Chinese company (HUAWEI) because of fear from "backdoors" related to hardware.., when you see the US behaving like that, that means they know better how can this be used and maybe they are already using these practices which is easy as most companies in the domain are from the US

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...