Stolen webcam video listed at $1 per female victim, $1 per 100 male victims

Over 170,000 people are part of the Sophos community on Facebook. Why not join us on Facebook to find out about the latest security threats.

Hi fellow Twitter user! Follow our team of security experts on Twitter for the latest news about internet security threats.

Already using Google+? Find us on Google+ for the latest security news.

Do only the truly paranoid stick bandages over their webcams so they don't get surreptitiously recorded?

According to a BBC Radio 5 live investigation, the rationale for doing so might be strong enough to vindicate the paranoid, given input from webcam hackers who say that such hacking is simple and that black markets for selling access to compromised computers are "thriving."

One webcam hacker who spoke to the BBC said "loads of people" are hacking webcams because it's so simple to do.

In fact, while he was being interviewed, he was on a forum with tutorials on how to hack webcams. It had about 428,000 posts, he said.

Hackers gain access to their victims' computers with remote-access Trojans (RATs) - malware that gives an intruder administrative control over its targeted computers, including, in this case, the ability to remotely control webcams.

It's an invisibly-installed malware program spread via email attachment or by tricking victims into visiting a booby-trapped site.

The BBC interviewed one victim who thinks she was victimized by webcam hacking.

Rachel Hyndman said that she noticed that her laptop camera had switched itself on while she was watching a DVD in the bath.

She was, of course, horrified:

"I was sitting in the bath, trying to relax, and suddenly someone potentially has access to me in this incredibly private moment and it's horrifying.

"To have it happen to you without your consent is horribly violating."

For the investigation, a BBC producer posed online as a computer security enthusiast in order to contact several webcam hackers from around the world - at least one of whom has since been arrested.

The investigation uncovered websites where hackers share pictures and videos of their victims aka "slaves", pages where they swap photos of "ugly slaves", sites where men swap images of female "slaves", and evidence of at least one black market where you can buy access to a woman's webcam for $1 (64p).

The same amount will get you access to 100 computers owned by men.

How common is this type of hack?

Graham Cluley told the BBC that webcam hacking is quite real.

That's evidenced by multiple arrests of perpetrators - including those looking to blackmail victims.

But while it is real, GC says, webcam hacking is rare enough that it's not quite worth freaking out over in the broader scheme of virusy things:

"There are 100,000 new virus threats created every day and it's really important to keep your security up to date because anti-virus software should protect you against most of these threats."

Still, you don't want to be one of the (albeit rare) victims.

A list of tips on avoiding getting webcam-hacked, some of which are adapted from a list provided by ChildNet International and the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre:

Keep your antivirus and firewall protection up to date.Patch applications in a timely fashion. Be wary of email and social networking messages from strangers, and refrain from clicking on attachments or links in any such messages.Don't take your webcam into intimate places, even if an error message tells you your computer needs hot steam to clean its sensor (true story!). When not in use, cover your webcam lens (bandages work well) or point it at the wall. Think twice before stripping for a conversation - remember, whomever you're talking to can record and share the video. Teach young people how to behave safely online to avoid them becoming victims.Encourage children who've been victimized via webcam to report it to a trusted adult. If you've been victimized yourself, report it to the authorities.

Stay safe, and keep an eye on that webcam light.

Follow @LisaVaas
Follow @NakedSecurity

Image of webcam and computer spying courtesy of Shutterstock.

View the original article here

Boy meets girl. Girl strips on webcam. Tells boy to do the same. Girl blackmails boy

Over 170,000 people are part of the Sophos community on Facebook. Why not join us on Facebook to find out about the latest security threats.

Hi fellow Twitter user! Follow our team of security experts on Twitter for the latest news about internet security threats.

Already using Google+? Find us on Google+ for the latest security news.

# And when two lovers woo
They still say, "I love you."
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by. #

The famous song Dooley Wilson sang in Casablanca may have got it wrong. For the age-old romantic story of "Boy meets girl" has surely become an awful lot more complicated now the internet has come along.

At least, that's what male computer users in Singapore are discovering.

We've warned readers before about some of the dangers involved in finding love online. Such as the true story of the Facebook blind date that turned into a supermarket robbery.

Now, people are being warned about another risk of finding love in the online world - webcam extortion.

But it's not the familiar headline of perverted hackers blackmailing young women into stripping in front of the camera.

This time the tables have turned, and it's *men* who are being victimised by *women*, in a peculiar twist on traditional webcam extortion.

Singapore's Police Force has warned of femme fatales befriending potential victims on sites such as Facebook and Tagged.com.

The women enter steamy webcam conversations with their prey, where they strip and encourage their male victim to do the same.

What the man doesn't realise, as he feverishly rips his clothes off and agrees to engage in various sexual acts in front of the camera, is that his female love interest is secretly recording everything that's going on.

The male victim is then blackmailed for money by the woman who threatens to circulate the compromising photographs and videos.

Ouch! That must put a dampener on the evening.

Here is a video of a Singapore TV programme which reconstructed just this kind of crime. (Warning: The acting is a bit cringeworthy)

The Singapore Police Force says it has seen a five-fold increase in the number of reported cases of such web extortion - over 50 in 2012, compared to 11 the previous year.

Here is a summary of their tips to avoid you becoming the next man to be duped in such a fashion:

Always be wary of strangers befriending you on social networks. If they're suddenly showing a romantic interest in you, ask yourself honestly if it's likely that they've selected you for online love out of the billions of other internet users.Never put yourself into a compromising position on your webcam. In short, keep your clothes on.. as you can't be sure if the person at the other end isn't making a video recording. At the same time, you shouldn't give away too much personal information to someone you don't really know.If anyone does ever attempt to extort money from you online, don't pay them. Contact the police instead. You may be embarrassed about the mess you have got yourself into, but the authorities are the right ones to investigate and (hopefully) bring the culprit to justice.

The threat doesn't just lie with webcam blackmail either. You can imagine how a man, believing he is being seduced online by a sexy woman, might be all too eager to click on a link she suggests or run a malicious program on his computer. Before he knows it, his computer could be under the control of a hacker.

Be careful out there, and keep your trousers on chaps.

Follow @gcluley

Webcam and female silhouette image from Shutterstock.

View the original article here