New Photo Shows Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Covers His Laptop's Camera and Microphone

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is easily one of my most powerful men in the world, given billions of people his social media network, but that doesn't mean he's immune to outsider attempts to breach his privacy.

In fact, by virtue of being such a high-profile entrepreneur, his privacy is arguably extra vulnerable, so protecting it is important. And it appears he is taking measures to do just that.

In a photo posted Tuesday to Facebook, Zuckerberg, 32, celebrated the growth of Instagram, the photo-sharing network owned by Facebook, and one keen Twitter observer noticed something in the picture's background: Zuckerberg's laptop camera and microphone jack appeared to be covered with tape.

3 things about this photo of Zuck:

Camera covered with tape
Mic jack covered with tape
Email client is Thunderbird pic.twitter.com/vdQlF7RjQt

— Chris Olson (@topherolson) June 21, 2016

The practice of covering a laptop camera — something even FBI Director James Comey does —  has continued to grow in recent years, as revelations have surfaced about the government's ability to access people's computer cameras and microphones. Additionally, hackers are able to hack individuals' devices by using remote-access trojans through a practice known as "ratting."

"I saw something in the news, so I copied it," Comey told NPR of his decision to cover his camera. "I put a piece of tape — I have obviously a laptop, personal laptop — I put a piece of tape over the camera. Because I saw somebody smarter than I am had a piece of tape over their camera."

Taping laptop cameras, at least among the security and technology community, is a very common practice, according to Lisa Myers, a security researcher at the data security firm ESET.

"Covering the camera is a very common security measure," she told the New York Times. "If you were to walk around a security conference, you would have an easier time counting devices that don’t have something over the camera."

Those who cover their cameras and microphones are often concerned, even just vaguely, about someone hacking into their computers. As it turns out, technology experts said the taping practice — specifically for Zuckerberg — is a good idea.

"I think Zuckerberg is sensible to take these precautions," Graham Cluley, online security expert and consultant, told the Times. "As well as intelligence agencies and conventional online criminals who might be interested in targeting his billions, there are no doubt plenty of mischievous hackers who would find it amusing to spy upon such a high-profile figure."

The news about Zuckerberg covering his camera comes not long after the Facebook founder's Twitter and Pinterest accounts were reportedly hacked into.

However, according to Stephen Cobb, senior security researcher at ESET, it's not just high-profile people who are at risk of being hacked.

"For people who are not C.E.O.s, the threat is people scanning the internet for accessible webcams for a range of motives, from voyeurism to extortion," Cobb wrote in an email.

Experts do not yet have a good estimate of how often such attacks occur, but, according to a 2015 report from nonprofit Digital Citizens Alliance, camera hacking is a growing issue for consumers, most notably young women.

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