The Director of the FBI at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (screenshot from YouTube)

Do you cover your webcam with tape or a sticker? Mark Zuckerberg does. It’s used to guard against hackers who might want to peek at your or your environment through your devices. And now the FBI Director has come out defending his own use of tape on his devices.


“Do you still have a piece of tape over your cameras at home?” the interviewer at the Center for Strategic and International Studies conference asked FBI Director James Comey earlier today.

“Heck yeah, heck yeah,” Comey responded. “And also, I get mocked for a lot of things... much mocked for that... but I hope people lock their cars [...] lock your doors at night. I have an alarm system. If you have an alarm system you should use it, I use mine. It’s not crazy that the FBI Director cares about personal security as well.”


Comey’s comments came within the context of a larger discussion around the internet of things. He urged Americans not to take it for granted that someone else was going to ensure that their computer security was up to snuff.

“I think people ought to be taking personal responsibility for their own safety and security,” Comey continued. “So there are some sensible things you ought to be doing and that’s one of them.”

Comey went on to explain that it was common practice at the FBI and any government office to use physical covers over webcams.

“You go into any government office, we all have our little camera things that sit on top of the screen,” Director James Comey said. “They all have a little lid that closes down on them. You do that so that people who don’t have authority don’t look at you. I think that’s a good thing.”


The particular brand of tape recommended by the FBI could not be confirmed by press time.

[The Hill]