A life online with the world, ours. But sharing only what we want via the Internet is becoming a serious problem. The risk is growing, and recent news stories demonstrate it, that someone could infiltrate our devices to obtain images or personal information that we cannot, or more simply do not want, to make public. And it is precisely the webcams, now ubiquitous not only in the thousands of places we pass through but also in the most intimate technological tools (the house alarm, the smartphone, the PC) that give us new and growing concerns. The computer pirate listens to us, records us, trades in digital stolen property, maybe he's blackmailing us.
A multifaceted and even more problematic picture if we think of the development of search engines such as Shodan which, thanks to the payment of a registration fee, even allow improvised spies to have control of devices connected to the network, starting right from the webcam. In some cases, these are public video cameras, such as those aimed at the streets, but in other cases they belong to private individuals, such as, for example, those inside a department store or the one positioned in the newborn's room (in the most innocuous case) to can always keep an eye on it. Also thanks to ours unconscious lightness, because with regard to the data and programs of our smartphone or PC, the perception of the risk of hacking is now widespread, and therefore we take care to keep them safe, instead we tend to forget that even a video camera or even a smart TV are equipped with software which is regularly connected to the network, and therefore exposed to possible acts of computer piracy.
Fortunately, small precautions are enough, even here, to defend our privacy and intimacy. So let's see how to notice being spied on by the webcam of our PC, how to prevent this risk and what tactics to adopt for the rest of our devices connected to the internet.
The webcam spies on us: how to notice it and what to do
Do we want to check if our webcam has already been hacked? Here's the bad news. There is no software or hardware that can give us a sure answer. But we can still make a local mind for what could have happened to us in the past and that can happen at any moment: the only signal of unequivocal danger that we can intercept (but it does not necessarily manifest itself) is thelighting of the luminous LED of the webcam when it shouldn't. In fact, if we notice this light turning on while we are not using any service that requires its use – such as a video call for example – someone is probably spying on us.
Let's first try to restart the computer and wait a few minutes. If the light turns on again, it means that our webcam has not gone into temporary haywire (it can happen) but is actually under the control of a hacker. At this point we just have to disconnect from the network and start a software virus scan, with the hope that it identifies malware within the system that is the most likely "vehicle" of the attack.
Hacked webcam: how to avoid it
To prevent the risks resulting from hacking our webcam, we have two possibilities before us. In the meantime, cover the camera lens with a post-it note or a piece of adhesive tape (the paper one, which does not leave the glue stuck), an effective but not definitive solution, or else we can take advantage of a program that allows you to have greater control over the webcams. To do this we can use, for example, two simple apps, one for Mac and one for Windows, which receive access requests to our computer's video camera and warn the user in the event of external intrusion attempts.
As for the macOS system, the application we can rely on is oversight. Just install it for it to start automatically every time we turn on our computer: if we see an umbrella-shaped icon at the top right of our screen, the app is working properly. In the event that an attacker tries to access our webcam, oversight will report it immediately and just click on the option "“lock” to prevent this from happening.
For Windows, however, the suitable application is Who stalks my Cam". Again, the app works in the background, keeping us safe from hackers who try to access our camera or microphone. In addition, the app allows us to check which apps and software are installed on our PC that access the camera or microphone.
The rules to defend our privacy
As previously mentioned, any electronic device connected to the Internet is vulnerable to cyber attacks. This type of objects belong to the so-called "Internet of things", a sector that has been expanding continuously in recent years. Search engines like Shodan use security breaches of the routers and servers of these systems to make their contents available and, in some cases, even remote use.
Unfortunately, zero risk does not exist, but we can keep our guard up to protect our personal data with a series of already known precautions, which are also highly recommended regardless of the specific problem that may concern intrusions via webcam. It is worth remembering them: check on the Internet if there are new versions of the software of our devices and if necessary update manually (if it is not an operation that is performed automatically by the device); change passwords default, including that of the router, choosing sufficiently complex passwords (a combination of at least 8 numbers, letters and special characters; choose a different password for each device and each service; disable the Plug and Play (UPnP) option in the router if possible or in the PC, usually active by default (it facilitates connections between devices but for this reason it also makes intrusions easier); do not connect home devices to public wi-fi networks. All this may not be enough, but a minimal barrier against spies will still be guaranteed.
