Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonstrated on ThinkPad X230
Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonstrated on ThinkPad X230
Tools for controlling webcam LED on ThinkPad X230. Contribute to xairy/lights-out development by creating an account on GitHub.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/121053
For this the best AV (100% proof)
(A piece of tape also works fine)
Why the fuck isn’t there just a simple status LED that is on the same circuit as the camera? If the camera is on, the LED is on. Period.
Why the fuck isn’t there just a simple status LED that is on the same circuit as the camera?
Because cameras aren't simple on-off devices powered by a single wire, that's why. It's always got power, and it's turned "on" (send image data over the data bus) and "off" (do not send data) by software commands over the same data bus.
So the most convenient solution is then have the camera IC have an output that can drive an indicator light. And as camera ICs are basically full computers in their own right, they can be reprogrammed so that they don't turn on that output.
End result is that you are much better off either having a physical cover over the camera lens, or having a USB camera that you can unplug.
Nice thing is that the X230 still closes properly with a thin sliding webcam cover.
I am confused as to why the firmware is able to control the LED at all. Seems much more sensible to just hook it up to the power the goes to the camera.
Then the LED would always be on. I doubt that most of those cameras are ever powered off when the computer is on, rather they just write the data from the camera into a memory buffer when asked for a camera feed.