Think That Phone Is Secure? Computer Security Pioneer John McAfee Says You’re Fooling Yourself

Cybersecurity tycoon John McAfee is warning that hundreds of people could be listening in on your phone calls or reading your emails as a result of potential security flaws in your smartphone.

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“I have the best habits in the world and I cannot keep my phone secure," McAfee, who founded his namesake anti-virus software company in 1987, said, according to USA Today.

But now, six years after selling his company, McAfee and Associates, to Intel for $7.7 billion, McAfee is wading into unchartered waters: anti-spyware software for mobile devices.

Specifically, the computer security expert says that the microphones and cameras installed in mobile devices give potential access to hackers and information thieves.

McAfee added that it's not that difficult to hack someone's phone, referring to the task as "trivial."

According to USA Today, McAfee is expected to become the CEO of a small technology company, MGT Capital Investments, which will reportedly develop the new anti-spyware product for mobile devices.

“We are teetering on an edge, not just as companies, not just as individuals, but as a nation and even as a world," McAfee said. "We depend so much on our information science."

But perhaps the greatest cybersecurity threat is to America's infrastructure; specifically, its "vulnerable" power grids. McAfee said foreign hackers have already tried to infiltrate this technology.

Meanwhile, the federal government has taken steps to combat the relatively new threat, but McAfee has suggested that what the government has done just isn't enough.

"Until you are touched, you do not understand the fullness of the risk," McAfee said.

McAfee is also a 2016 Libertarian Party presidential candidate.

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