Hacking into unsecured webcams is too easy

Are You Being Watched?

No other exploit is as vicious or expedient with its results as camera activation malware. An adversary is virtually guaranteed a successful blackmail or espionage campaign when you have compiled hours upon hours of video footage of a powerful executive or government official “satisfying their intellectual curiosity” in front of their computer, in the privacy of their home office, in the wee hours of the night.

Unsecured cameras on PCs and mobile devices pose a serious threat to the private sector, to individual users, and to national security. No other exploit is as vicious or expedient with its results as camera activation malware which can be used by malicious threat actors to surveil and spy on unsuspecting users.

In a recent publication, entitled “America Exposed:  Who’s Watching You Through Your Computer’s Camera?”, ICIT (Institute for Critical Infrastructure technology) provides an in-depth analysis of this underreported threat by discussing:

- The evolution of surveillance capabilities in computing devices
- Examples of malware used by malicious actors to gain access to cameras and microphones
- “Webcam Gate” and creepy gaming surveillance technology
- Strategies on how to mitigate mass camera-based surveillance