With the enhanced breach of security in the cyber world, one of the primary prospects that users are frightened of is the webcam. In order to set things straight, HP conducted a survey to get a better insight into the matter.

In terms of the result, 79% of the United States respondents believe that their privacy is at stake with the laptop’s webcam that they are accessing. Webcam paranoia is a real thing that has consistently been affecting one’s quality of life and productivity simultaneously, making it hard for them to focus on the work at hand.

The terror doesn’t stop there. The data from the survey also suggests that 59% of the users have opted for ways to keep their laptop webcam concealed so as to have that peace of mind. The statistics also suggest that it is the women population who feel more threatened with the compromised security with the webcam security issues.

The main objective behind the study was to better understand the tier of awareness which is associated with the constant risks of webcam hacking and the impacts that was witnessed on the consumers behavior surrounding the subject.

To help get a better picture surrounding how people interact with the webcam usage, HP conducted a survey including 3000 individuals from across North America. The number included 1000 of the United States consumers who owned a laptop along with an internal webcam.

After drawing the results, it suggests that 8 out of 10 participants believe that their privacy is at stake with the webcams in their laptops. Out of this, 6 out of 10 participants have firm beliefs on the fact that the same does have impacts on compromising their privacy.

This is not the end of it. The mode of knowledge of the webcam hacking by these US respondents is quite fascinating as well. 43% of the respondents learnt about the webcam hacking and the associated risks from social media, and 40% learnt from the television shows or news. Apart from this, 38% of the participants also stated that learning about this subject also propagated through word of mouth.

The most shocking statistic of them all is the fact that 1 out of 10 participants have actually witnessed someone’s webcam getting hacked for real.

It was also found that less than half the participants feel comfortable in keeping their laptop lid open while the majority of them didn’t. This insecurity and fright was increased when the users indulged in more intimate events like using the bathroom and something similar.

This isn’t the only thing. The problem surrounding webcam hacking is also subjective to gender, women being more frightened and cautious than men. Half the respondents believe that it takes too much of a time to actually change the webcam settings in the laptop and 79% of them wish they could turn it off with the flip of a switch much like what HP introduced with their kill switch feature in the HP Spectre and HP ENVY laptops.