Mark Zuckerberg seems to be ironically paranoid of other people snooping on him as a new photo of him celebrating the 500 million users milestone of Instagram shows his laptop's webcam and audio port taped.
The Facebook CEO is well aware of the fact that data breaches and hackers are rampant these days. However, well-informed people are also aware that the social network giant uses their data and sells them to partner companies for targeted advertising and such.
Facebook is not exactly free to use as users give up some of their right to privacy when they sign up for the social network. The site has been put into the spotlight for several times in the past few years due to several mishaps in experimenting with their users, selling private data and more.
The new photo of Zuckerberg now raises some concern as his Macbook's audio jack and web camera seem to be taped shut, Gizmodo has learned. It is a well-known fact that hackers can use malware to secretly record videos or audio through the webcam and microphone even without the user's consent and knowledge.
Zuckerberg's paranoia then has a valid reason. As the CEO of a multibillion-dollar company, he is expected to protect himself from any kind of physical or cyber threat.
There were also 16 bodyguards hired by Zuckerberg to protect him in his own home, 9 to 5 Mac reported. In fact, it was revealed in 2016 that $5 million alone was spent for his own security which could also justify why he also wants to protect himself from cyber threats at a time when antimalware programs are not enough.
Taping over the webcam renders it useless as there would be no feed available due to the physical obstacle that blocks the view regardless if the hacker has control over it or not. However, the audio could still work if the tape is not strong enough.
Facebook's Zuckerberg is now being tagged as a paranoid MacBook Pro user but is it really an extreme precaution considering that most malware and rootkits today have evolved? The simple solution could also save Zuckerberg another $5 million as he would not need to buy or develop his own antivirus software to battle hackers from taking a video of him in his own laptop.