Apple’s MAC Web Cameras Hacked And Captured Persons Having Sex. 

A team of computer scientists have confirmed the ability of government entities and private parties to remotely activate a webcam without the webcam light turning on. The scientists paper focused on pre-2008 iMac, MacBooks and MacBookPros and early Intel-based iMacs, MacBooks and MacBookPros. 

The vulnerability lies in the iSights microprocessor. The team believe that the newest Mac are vulnerable also, though they have more layers of security than do the pre 2008 Mac.  It would have taken a larger “hacking” budget to compromise the current iSight microprocessor.

In early 2012, a 19 year old Miss Teenage USA was remotely spied upon by a webcam exploit on an unknow brand of notebook. In September 2010 a Rutger’s Univesity student remotely spied on his roommates sexual activities via a notebook camera, and streamed the video over the Internet. The spied-upon committed suicide. The spy was prosecuted.

On MAC Book Pro, a green LED  3/32nds to the right of the camera lens, lights up when the camera is enabled, and  is a visual cue that the camera is “on”.  http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/  

                  During the week of December 8th, 2013 Department of Computer Science researchers at Johns Hopkins http://www.cs.jhu.edu/  demonstrated an exploit that they named ‘iSeeYou’, which allowed a hacker to take control of the a 2008 MacBook’s intergrated iSight webcam without its green LED activating. There have been a lot of reports of people being spied upon by webcams. See this link for more on that.  http://bit.ly/1ec7gyd

The Federal Trade Commission  http://www.ftc.gov/  settled a suit with 7 companies who were renting computers with DesignerWare software called PC Rental Agent installed on the rented computers so that those rental companies could capture Social Security numbers, banking information, emails, medical information, and webcam pictures of children and in home intimate activites such as sexual activities too.  http://princetoncomputertutor.com/blog/

In 2010 a Lower Merion School a suburban Philadelphia, Pennsyvania school district,  was accused of using the school issued student computers webcam, to view the person sitting in front of the computer when the computer was used in the home of the student or else where. A partiuclar student was notificed by the school principal that the student was engaging in inappropriate behavior while at home. The parents of the student filed suit at the district.

Security experts say there is only really one solution that can guarantee no one is spying on you…….

A piece of tape stuck over your computer camera.