Heck yeah! I still cover my webcam with tape: FBI director
FBI director James Comey has reiterated that it’s a good thing to cover up webcams with tapes to ward off hackers months after he was mocked for his “common-sense security measure”.
FBI director James Comey has reiterated that it’s a good thing to cover up webcams with tapes to ward off hackers months after he was mocked for his “common-sense security measure”.
“Heck yeah, heck yeah,” Comey responded to a question whether he still uses tape during a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Wednesday.
In April, Comey was widely ridiculed on Twitter after revealing that he uses tape to cover up his laptop webcam to ensure privacy with many mocking the director’s ‘double standards’ and hypocrisy.
For Comey’s “no-frills” security tip came after FBI launched a highly publicised battle against Apple to gain access to data locked inside of the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists.
“And also, I get mocked for a lot of things... much mocked for that... but 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,” he was quoted as saying by several media organisations on Wednesday.
“I think people ought to be taking personal responsibility for their own safety and security,” Comey said. “So there are some sensible things you ought to be doing and that’s one of them.”
The FBI boss also added that it was common practice at the FBI and other government offices to physically cover webcams.
“You go into any government office, we all have our little camera things that sit on top of the screen. They all have a little lid that closes down on them,” Comey said.
“You do that so that people who don’t have authority don’t look at you. I think that’s a good thing.”