Most laptops today have a built-in camera above the display. And most of those have a small light next to them that is supposed to turn on to alert the user when the camera is active. But a couple of years ago, researchers discovered that this doesn’t always work; hackers can activate the camera on certain MacBook models (and probably some other laptops) without enabling the light and tipping off the user.
The Rand Paul campaign is selling an “NSA Spy Cam Blocker” for your laptop
Luke Sharrett/Getty Images
Ever since writing that story, I’ve had a precautionary Post-it Note over my laptop’s camera. Newly minted presidential candidate Rand Paul is using concerns over laptop camera privacy to promote his campaign:
Paul’s campaign has dubbed this the “NSA Spy Cam Blocker,“ urging supporters to “stop hackers and the NSA with this simple camera blocker.”
I don’t think there’s been any proof that the NSA spies on people using webcams, but this isn’t a crazy concern. We’ve known since 2013 that the FBI had technology to remotely activate targets’ webcams and stream images back to the authorities.
Private-sector creeps have also jumped on the camera-hacking bandwagon in recent years. There’s a whole underground community of men who trade tips and software for hacking into young women’s laptops to capture naked pictures of them.
So Paul’s webcam protector is a savvy bit of marketing. It provides a useful service (though a small Post-it Note will do the same job for a lot less money) and underscores an important theme of his campaign, while its prominent position above supporters’ laptop screens will constantly remind them of his candidacy.
