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FBI Director Advises Taping Up Your Webcam for Added Safety

FBI Director Advises Taping Up Your Webcam for Added Safety

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 15 September 2016 16:37 IST

Highlights

FBI director thinks taping webcams for added safety is a good idea
He says everyone should take care of their personal safety
He said that all government offices have a lid on cameras

Remember when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called paranoid for putting tape on his laptop webcam as a security measure? Well, the FBI director James Comey seems to think that everyone should follow Zuckerberg's footsteps. Asserting that everyone should take responsibility for their own security, Comey said that putting a lid on cameras is a good thing, and that people who don't have authority shouldn't look at you.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Comey was asked by an interviewer if he still tapes his cameras at home. Comey was mocked for this habit earlier when he launched a battle with Apple to gain access to an iPhone used in the San Bernardino shooting. After Apple refused support, Comey had hacked the iPhone by purchasing a third-party tool.

(Also see: The FBI can control your webcam without switching on its light)

He said that he was mocked much for that, but he said personal responsibility for security was imperative. "There's some sensible things you should be doing, and that's one of them. You go into any government office and we all have the little camera things that sit on top of the screen. They all have a little lid that closes down on them. You do that so that people who don't have authority don't look at you. I think that's a good thing," he told the interviewer.

"I hope people lock their cars [...] lock your doors at night. I have an alarm system. If you have an alarm system you should use it, I use mine. It's not crazy that the FBI Director cares about personal security as well," Comey added.

In June, Zuckerberg posted a picture on Instagram celebrating the photo-sharing platform's 500 monthly active users milestone. The picture showed him sitting at his desk at Facebook HQ with his laptop right beside him. The webcam on the laptop appeared to have been taped, in a bid to keep the hackers at bay. If the FBI director himself advises it, and we see the biggest name in tech employing it, the precautionary measure is worth considering.

Would you tape your webcam? Let us know in the comments below.

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