Are webcam spies watching you?
- webfeatures
- Mar 26, 2015
- 2 min read
Staff Report
DUBAI - A recent study revealed that 24 percent of computer users in the UAE cover up their web ameras because they fear that cyber-spies could be monitoring them via their computers.
The study by Kaspersky Lab and BXB International also found that 22 percent of users in the UAE are completely unaware that they could be watched via a webcam. Only 50 percent of respondents are fully aware of this threat and admit that the possibility makes them feel uncomfortable.
Cybercriminals can use web cameras to steal company secrets or gain access to financial services. Sometimes users make this task even easier: for example, one in ten respondents admitted to writing down their credentials on a piece of paper next to the computer. A modern webcam can easily capture that information.
Fraudsters can also take compromising photos of the unsuspecting victim. These could be used for blackmail, or simply for amusement – and the victim’s embarrassment. For example, in May 2014 Europol disclosed a network of developers, distributors and users of malicious programs which were also designed for webcam spying. The investigation began with the arrest of a Dutch hacker who had infected the computers of 2,000 women hoping to get intimate photos.
According to the study, 16 percent of users in the UAE cover cameras on their mobile devices too. At the same time, taping over the lens is not the most effective method of protection. It will temporarily prevent visual surveillance but does nothing to neutralize the built-in webcam microphone, nor can it prevent images being intercepted when users switch on their cameras themselves.
Many security solutions provide protection against malicious software that can "spy" via the webcam. However this does not work if the program is not malicious by default (for example, transmits only the picture) or the attacker uses legal software for this purpose.
