Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonstrated on ThinkPad X230

Post by ycombinatrix » Wed, Dec 04, 2024, 1:57 AM UTC

Anechoic wrote: post #285

lynndotpy wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite this being a 2016 paper, it's worth noting that this is true in general and has been common(ish) knowledge among electrical engineers for decades. Highschoolers and undergrads in electrical engineering classes often discover this independently. What's notable about this paper is only that they demonstrate it as a practical attack, rather than just a neat fun fact of audio engineering. As a fun fact, an LED ca…

and has been common(ish) knowledge among electrical engineers for decades. Not only is it common knowledge it's how drive-thru kiosks work! Source: I used to test microphone/speakers for a kiosk OEM.

Post by anticensor » Wed, Dec 04, 2024, 2:57 PM UTC

tzs wrote: post #493

WalterBright wrote: post #12

Of course it can. Cameras and microphones and write enable must have physical switches, not software ones. When will people learn? Never. Me, I unplug the camera and mike when not in use.

Heavy camera and mic users might want to be careful with the unplug when not in use approach, in case either the camera/mic and/or the computer/hub the camera/mic connects to has a connector that is only good for the minimum number of mating cycles required by the USB spec. For type A connectors that is only 1500 cycles. Mini USB connectors raise that 5000 cycles. Micro USB and USB-C raise it to 10000. For a type A j…