Is The FBI Watching You Through Your Laptop?

This news will either frighten you or it will do nothing at all. It seems there is no end to the ways that the US Government can spy on people these days. Every day, it seems, new information is revealed that takes things a step further than the day before. Through the classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the world is more than aware of just some of the lengths the Government will go to to get information. His leaks have made some people afraid to use their own cell phones for fear of spying. Others, who feel they have nothing to hide, live much the same as before.

Now, thanks to the Washington Post, it is being reported that the FBI has a few spying tricks up their sleeve as well. (Since they are the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I guess they should be entitled to a few investigative tricks). One of their tricks that may scare and surprise even the most innocent of us is this: the FBI can turn on your laptop’s camera and watch you without you even knowing it.

Good Tool Or Privacy Nightmare?

To be fair to the FBI, this news was revealed to the Washington Post in conjunction with the FBI trying to catch a bombing suspect who had been eluding them for quite some time. The article also reports how they used certain other types of malware to put different surveillance programs on the suspect’s computer.

Here’s what surprised me most about the whole thing – the FBI has been able to secretly spy on anyone through their laptop camera for years now. It’s not some new technology that’s just now allowing them to get a closer look. And while it’s technically only supposed to be used to catch terrorism suspects, what’s to stop them from using it to spy on average citizens down the road?

You and I may never know if we’ve been spied on – and while most of us have nothing to hide, it is still a scary thought knowing that Big Brother could be out there watching us.

What are your thoughts on this subject?

[Image via digitaltrends]

SOURCE:  http://gizmodo.com/fbi-can-secretly-activate-laptop-cameras-without-the-in-1478371370