Nothing is absolutely safe on the Internet, and therefore everyone who goes online needs to know and follow the rules of digital hygiene. Roskachestvo has enlisted the support of cybersecurity experts and are ready to declare: it is necessary to glue the laptop camera and microphone, and in the age of digital crimes, this is just as important as closing the front door. If a virus is found on a laptop or smartphone, it can activate the microphone or camera of the device. This is how the Pegasus spyware works, for example, which attacked Android and iOS mobile operating systems via old versions of the WhatsApp messenger.
If you do not want to become a victim of a cybercriminal, in addition to the fact that antivirus and updated software must be installed on your computer, it is still worth sticking the camera and microphone on demand. This will increase your chances of privacy and peace of mind - even if a hacker connects to you, he will not see or hear you.
To some, this recommendation may seem paranoid, but many still close the front door a few turns, even when at home.
If there is an opportunity to avoid trouble in such an easy way as gluing the camera and microphone, then it is better to use it.
Anton Fishman, Head of System Solutions Department, Group-IB:
“You shouldn't think that people who tape a camera on a laptop or phone are paranoid - most likely, they are guided by the knowledge of how viruses work. Once on a computer or smartphone, the malicious spyware executes the “payload” put into it by the creator - it is capable of not only copying documents, intercepting keystrokes, reading victim messages, but also activating the microphone or camera on the device. For example, the spyware Pegasus works, which attacked Android and iOS mobile operating systems through a vulnerability in older versions of the WhatsApp messenger. It is important to understand that one sticker on the camera cannot solve the problem - in order not to become a victim, the user must observe "digital hygiene", for example,do not download programs from unreliable sources or restrict the access of applications to the recorder or camera"
All you need to cover the camera is a piece of opaque tape or duct tape. It is better to use the latter, since after removing the tape there will be traces of glue. In addition, so-called "curtains" are now in demand, which are attached to the laptop camera and are conveniently regulated.
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Rustem Khairetdinov, vice president of InfoWatch Group of Companies:
“I myself use simple duct tape to cover my laptop camera, I trust it more than branded shutters. Especially after the case with the gift plastic curtains, which, as it turned out, let in enough light for the sensitive camera. But I glue the camera not because I'm afraid of surveillance (I don't glue it on my phone), but to protect myself from accidental activation. I quite often host webinars for a large audience that do not involve video, but only a presentation, voice and chat. However, most webinar platforms start the camera by default and only then let it turn off. After a couple of times when the camera was turned on when I was not ready to shoot, I taped it over.
Yes, theoretically we can be hacked and gain access to the camera, but the risks are small: the damage from your image is negligible. There have been cases when porn sites filmed the faces of their clients at the time of viewing and then blackmailed them, demanding money, otherwise they threatened to publish these videos - perhaps this is the greatest damage that can be remembered. For me, not keeping the camera open is just part of "digital hygiene"
Indeed, the real value is not how you look in front of the monitor, but what you say, what you are talking about with the environment. It is this information that must be protected from prying ears by gluing the laptop microphone.
Do I need to peck on cameras and microphones of smartphones?
As for smartphones, as experts note, even if you remove unnecessary permissions to access the camera or microphone, the gadgets themselves constantly spy on their owners, whether it be geolocation or monitoring audio in the background. They collect metadata about us in order to further targeted advertising of certain products.
At first glance, quite harmless applications can spy on users, for example, a messenger that recognizes and analyzes speech for its own purposes, or a flashlight that requests access to photos and contacts.
There is nowhere to hide from this, and you need to take it for granted, but for the duration of a private conversation, it is still better to turn off your smartphone.
In its research, the Roskachestvo Center for Digital Expertise relies on the Standard, in which one of the requirements for mobile applications is to request only justified permissions. Roskachestvo again recommends to be careful about the requested access of mobile applications: to restrict access to the microphone, camera, photo gallery, geolocation, etc., if this does not affect the performance of the necessary functions of the applications.
How to protect yourself from this?
Kaspersky Lab found FinSpy, which reads secret chats.
Kaspersky Lab has discovered a new version of the FinSpy spyware that has learned to read messages in regular and secret chats of protected instant messengers. This was reported by the press service of the company (the document is at the disposal of RBC).
The new version is able to collect data from messengers that use encryption like Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal and Threema. Hackers can install FinSpy on a device if they gain physical access to it, if the gadget has been jailbroken (an operation that opens access to the file system of Apple devices; not officially supported by the company - RBC), as well as on a device with an outdated version of Android … In the latter case, the device can be infected via SMS, push notification, or email.
FinSpy collects different types of user data: contacts, email, SMS, calendar entries, GPS location, photos, saved files, voice call records and data from instant messengers. Kaspersky Lab notes that each malicious sample can be customized for a specific person or group of users.
To protect yourself from malicious software, Kaspersky Lab recommends:
do not leave mobile devices unlocked;
not tell anyone your password from the device;
install the application only from official stores;
do not click on suspicious links sent from unknown numbers;
regularly check if unfamiliar applications are installed on the phone and immediately remove them if they are found.
On the eve it became known that the site of the Moscow Ring Railway was used by hackers to spread a banking virus. He was infected with the Panda virus. The specialists of "Kaspersky Lab" together with the Department of Information Technologies (DIT) of the city of Moscow have eliminated the problem with the site.
Earlier in July 2019, specialists from CSIS, a cybersecurity company, identified a new rogue app for Android smartphones.
This is the Updates for Samsung app in the Google Play store. It supposedly contains various improvements for the smartphone from the official developers. However, after installation, users are taken to update.com, which hosts various articles about Android.
Hackers don't need me
And you can't argue with that. Unless you are a major entrepreneur, politician, or celebrity, no one will purposefully follow you. But don't forget about viruses that everyone can pick up. And if such an infection gets on your computer, the hacker will gain access to it, and at the same time to the devices connected to the computer. I think very few people will be happy with such a prospect. Owners of Windows PCs on board are most at risk. They should get an antivirus and not download any garbage like MediaGet, since viruses spread through 90% of such programs.
In this regard, Mac users are more fortunate, since there are fewer viruses, and it is more difficult to access the camera without the owner's knowledge.
I have nothing to hide
Believe me, a hacker is also not interested in looking at your bored face sticking into a monitor. But he can still harm. Remember at least the case in April 2016. Then the user of "Dvacha", having access to several hundred computers, arranged a whole online show. He openly trolled people, turned on gay porn, music in the browser, and lit the VKontakte page. The main thing is that the identity of the pest has not been established. Or, let's remember the story of an unlucky Briton who monitored the sex lives of his friends via webcams. However, he was quickly identified and put behind bars.
Surveillance incidents are not isolated, so don't think of it as something distant that will never happen to you. In addition, in addition to hackers, special services are engaged in surveillance, Snowden spoke about this back in 2014. The NSA is quite capable of getting your smartphone to spy on you by turning on the camera and microphone. And you won't even know about it. But, if you are an ordinary person, the special services are not interested in you. Until.
It is worth thinking about your safety, but everything should be within reason. Fear of surveillance, many companies began to cash in, releasing various curtains and films for cameras. They talk about surveillance on TV screens, in movies, TV shows. And here it is important not to lose your head, otherwise the next step will be a foil hat.
Expert opinion
Russian hacker Alexander Varskoy commented on the recommendations of Roskachestvo experts on the use of smartphones and laptops. According to Varsky, the precautions offered by Roskachestvo are reasonable. Despite the “combination of convenience and inconvenience,” the goal of protecting oneself from interference can be achieved. There are other ways to block unwanted information, but the average user will not be able to do this.
“Two groups of people, two large strata are engaged in such a tool for viewing video content through a video camera and listening through microphones of your devices. One is called the "corporate world" - big companies. I call them "corporate organized crime groups" that exchange our data with you in the big data mode. Either they exchange or trade with each other without our knowledge. And the second is the special services. Access to the camera and microphone is used only by the above two organizations,”he explained. Varskoy advises to be careful about applications on devices and, if possible and willing, limit their access to the camera or microphone.
Some hackers get passwords from banks or social networks this way. Also, intruders can get their hands on personal photos of users who can sometimes walk by the camera naked or dress up. In 2011, a California hacker was convicted of covert surveillance of girls through their webcams, as well as blackmail after receiving incriminating photos.
