1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:01,540 Welcome to Stupid Design. 2 00:00:01,540 --> 00:00:04,060 Here's the thing, and here's why it's stupid. 3 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:08,300 (singing) Stupid Design 4 00:00:08,300 --> 00:00:10,400 (yelling) --It's so stupid! 5 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,820 Mark Zuckerberg broke the news recently when it was revealed 6 00:00:13,820 --> 00:00:16,980 that he covers the webcam on his laptop when he's not using it. 7 00:00:17,140 --> 00:00:20,340 Though it may seem paranoid, security experts agree with him. 8 00:00:20,500 --> 00:00:25,020 You see, nefarious hackers could at any moment be using their digital wizardry 9 00:00:25,020 --> 00:00:27,960 to spy on you through your webcam without you even knowing it. 10 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,800 "Wait," you say, "I've got a light on my webcam that lets me know if it's being used. 11 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,000 Surely, I must be safe, right?" 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:40,240 Wrong! Even those of you that have a light next to your webcam indicating it's working should be wary. 13 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,480 You see, with the right hacking skills that light can be disabled independently from the camera, 14 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,140 and that, dear viewer, is the stupid. 15 00:00:47,180 --> 00:00:50,860 The mere fact that this is even possible is woefully stupid. 16 00:00:50,860 --> 00:00:55,220 The light should provide no doubt that the camera is operating or in fact that it's not. 17 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,760 The hardware designers and engineers who designed these webcam modules 18 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,860 have overlooked the most simple solution to this problem. 19 00:01:01,860 --> 00:01:06,700 In fact, the solution is so simple it can be demonstrated with a garden-variety power strip. 20 00:01:06,820 --> 00:01:09,700 Let's pretend that this microwave oven is a camera. 21 00:01:09,700 --> 00:01:14,220 Notice that it's currently completely powered off with not even the clock showing the time. 22 00:01:14,580 --> 00:01:20,140 That's because it's plugged into this power strip, and the power strip is currently turned off. 23 00:01:20,460 --> 00:01:24,140 I also have a genuine Swedish lamp located on top of the microwave, 24 00:01:24,140 --> 00:01:26,800 and you may notice that it is also not working. 25 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:28,300 It's not illuminated. 26 00:01:28,300 --> 00:01:32,760 That's because they're both plugged into the power strip, and neither of them are receiving power. 27 00:01:33,100 --> 00:01:35,900 But when I turn on the power strip, two things happen. 28 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:37,840 Not just one, but two. 29 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,540 Turning on the power strip does two things, and the things are as follows. 30 00:01:42,540 --> 00:01:43,920 Here are the things. 31 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,020 First, turning on the switch turns on the light. 32 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,820 But also first, as indeed the things happen at the same time simultaneously, 33 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,200 the microwave receives power at the same time. 34 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,920 If I wish to cook some food, the microwave must receive power. 35 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,800 And since the lamp receives power along with the microwave, 36 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,280 the lamp must be lit if the microwave is able to work. 37 00:02:05,460 --> 00:02:08,000 If a condition arises where the light is not lit, 38 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,600 that being that the power strip has been turned off, 39 00:02:10,900 --> 00:02:15,060 the microwave also loses power, and thus the cup of coffee that you forgot about 40 00:02:15,060 --> 00:02:17,420 and are reheating stays cold. 41 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,500 Observe that the ability of the microwave to function 42 00:02:20,500 --> 00:02:23,100 is governed by the position of the switch on the power strip, 43 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,120 and the light always illuminates whenever the power strip is turned on. 44 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:31,800 This means that the light serves as an indicator of the microwave's potential to cook, 45 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,140 not necessarily that it is cooking, but that it could. 46 00:02:35,140 --> 00:02:40,460 If any condition arises where the light is not lit, then the microwave can't possibly be working. 47 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:42,900 Now, returning to the laptop computer, 48 00:02:42,900 --> 00:02:47,560 here we find an indicator designed to tell you, the user, if the camera is watching. 49 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:52,680 Now as we've learned from security experts, clearly this indicator is on its own switch, 50 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,760 able to be controlled independently from the camera regardless of whether the camera is on or not. 51 00:02:57,820 --> 00:02:59,200 This is stupid. 52 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,780 That light should be on the same power supply as the camera, 53 00:03:01,789 --> 00:03:05,540 and there should be no switch between the light and the camera's power supply. 54 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,620 This way if the camera is operating, the light has to be on, 55 00:03:09,620 --> 00:03:12,680 and if the light's not on the camera can't operate. 56 00:03:13,100 --> 00:03:17,140 I've actually lied to you. See, this lamp has its own switch, too. 57 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,120 Because the lamp and the microwave can be controlled independently, 58 00:03:21,180 --> 00:03:25,040 the lamp does not serve as an indicator of whether the microwave can work. 59 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,540 But if the switch weren't there, and the lamp had to be on with the microwave, 60 00:03:29,540 --> 00:03:31,980 the lamp would always serve as a reliable indicator 61 00:03:31,980 --> 00:03:35,060 of whether or not the microwave could possibly function. 62 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,120 Without the switch no amount of hacking skills 63 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:43,220 would be able to turn on the microwave/camera without the light also turning on. 64 00:03:43,220 --> 00:03:45,820 If the webcam had been designed in this fashion 65 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,560 without the light on its own switch or power supply 66 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,680 then, this security flaw would have been impossible. 67 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,740 If a hacker was able to gain remote access to your camera and turn it on, 68 00:03:55,740 --> 00:03:59,900 well, that light would have to come on alongside it giving you fair warning. 69 00:04:00,460 --> 00:04:02,300 Of course now, it's too late. 70 00:04:02,420 --> 00:04:05,520 Even if manufacturers decided to start using their heads 71 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,400 and produce webcam modules designed in this fashion, 72 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,860 would you believe them if they told you it was safe? 73 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,740 Probably not, and thus, thanks to the stupid of the past, 74 00:04:14,740 --> 00:04:17,660 we're stuck with slapping bits of post-it notes on the screen. 75 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:18,720 Goodbye. 76 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:36,880 (fast violin music playing)