WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:01.540 Welcome to Stupid Design. 00:00:01.540 --> 00:00:04.060 Here's the thing, and here's why it's stupid. 00:00:04.560 --> 00:00:08.300 (singing) Stupid Design 00:00:08.300 --> 00:00:10.400 (yelling) --It's so stupid! 00:00:10.680 --> 00:00:13.820 Mark Zuckerberg broke the news recently when it was revealed 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:16.980 that he covers the webcam on his laptop when he's not using it. 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:20.340 Though it may seem paranoid, security experts agree with him. 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:25.020 You see, nefarious hackers could at any moment be using their digital wizardry 00:00:25.020 --> 00:00:27.960 to spy on you through your webcam without you even knowing it. 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. 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:35.000 Surely, I must be safe, right?" 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. 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.480 You see, with the right hacking skills that light can be disabled independently from the camera, 00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:47.140 and that, dear viewer, is the stupid. 00:00:47.180 --> 00:00:50.860 The mere fact that this is even possible is woefully stupid. 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. 00:00:55.400 --> 00:00:58.760 The hardware designers and engineers who designed these webcam modules 00:00:58.760 --> 00:01:01.860 have overlooked the most simple solution to this problem. 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. 00:01:06.820 --> 00:01:09.700 Let's pretend that this microwave oven is a camera. 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:14.220 Notice that it's currently completely powered off with not even the clock showing the time. 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. 00:01:20.460 --> 00:01:24.140 I also have a genuine Swedish lamp located on top of the microwave, 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:26.800 and you may notice that it is also not working. 00:01:26.960 --> 00:01:28.300 It's not illuminated. 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. 00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:35.900 But when I turn on the power strip, two things happen. 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:37.840 Not just one, but two. 00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:42.540 Turning on the power strip does two things, and the things are as follows. 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:43.920 Here are the things. 00:01:44.080 --> 00:01:47.020 First, turning on the switch turns on the light. 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:51.820 But also first, as indeed the things happen at the same time simultaneously, 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:55.200 the microwave receives power at the same time. 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:58.920 If I wish to cook some food, the microwave must receive power. 00:01:58.960 --> 00:02:01.800 And since the lamp receives power along with the microwave, 00:02:01.800 --> 00:02:05.280 the lamp must be lit if the microwave is able to work. 00:02:05.460 --> 00:02:08.000 If a condition arises where the light is not lit, 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:10.600 that being that the power strip has been turned off, 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:15.060 the microwave also loses power, and thus the cup of coffee that you forgot about 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.420 and are reheating stays cold. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.500 Observe that the ability of the microwave to function 00:02:20.500 --> 00:02:23.100 is governed by the position of the switch on the power strip, 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:27.120 and the light always illuminates whenever the power strip is turned on. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:31.800 This means that the light serves as an indicator of the microwave's potential to cook, 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.140 not necessarily that it is cooking, but that it could. 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. 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:42.900 Now, returning to the laptop computer, 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:47.560 here we find an indicator designed to tell you, the user, if the camera is watching. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:52.680 Now as we've learned from security experts, clearly this indicator is on its own switch, 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. 00:02:57.820 --> 00:02:59.200 This is stupid. 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:01.780 That light should be on the same power supply as the camera, 00:03:01.789 --> 00:03:05.540 and there should be no switch between the light and the camera's power supply. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.620 This way if the camera is operating, the light has to be on, 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:12.680 and if the light's not on the camera can't operate. 00:03:13.100 --> 00:03:17.140 I've actually lied to you. See, this lamp has its own switch, too. 00:03:17.720 --> 00:03:21.120 Because the lamp and the microwave can be controlled independently, 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:25.040 the lamp does not serve as an indicator of whether the microwave can work. 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, 00:03:29.540 --> 00:03:31.980 the lamp would always serve as a reliable indicator 00:03:31.980 --> 00:03:35.060 of whether or not the microwave could possibly function. 00:03:35.440 --> 00:03:38.120 Without the switch no amount of hacking skills 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:43.220 would be able to turn on the microwave/camera without the light also turning on. 00:03:43.220 --> 00:03:45.820 If the webcam had been designed in this fashion 00:03:45.920 --> 00:03:48.560 without the light on its own switch or power supply 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.680 then, this security flaw would have been impossible. 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:55.740 If a hacker was able to gain remote access to your camera and turn it on, 00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:59.900 well, that light would have to come on alongside it giving you fair warning. 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.300 Of course now, it's too late. 00:04:02.420 --> 00:04:05.520 Even if manufacturers decided to start using their heads 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.400 and produce webcam modules designed in this fashion, 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:10.860 would you believe them if they told you it was safe? 00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:14.740 Probably not, and thus, thanks to the stupid of the past, 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:17.660 we're stuck with slapping bits of post-it notes on the screen. 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:18.720 Goodbye. 00:04:18.760 --> 00:04:36.880 (fast violin music playing)