If you weren’t particularly worried about privacy before, it may be time for a little concern. An alarming new allegation brought forth by a Washington Post article about the search for a bomb suspect warns that the FBI has had the capacity to spy on people by turning on their built-in computer cameras “without triggering the light that lets users know it is recording” for years.
Via Complex:
According to Marcus Thomas, the former assistant director of the FBI’s Operational Technology Division, this kind of stealth spying is restricted to investigations that involve terrorism and/or the “most serious” criminal cases. But even if innocent civilians aren’t being targeted, just knowing that the agency has the technology to carry out this kind of spying is a terrifying prospect.
The newspaper also claims that the FBI uses malware to introduce surveillance software to targets’ computers. The practice was given the OK in at least one case by a federal magistrate. The same judge, however, nixed the use of sneaky camera spying on the grounds that it was “extremely intrusive” and could represent a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
