Cybersecurity company Surfshark released a feature for its antivirus – Webcam Protection. The functionality prevents unauthorized webcam connections and allow users to choose camera access permissions for specific apps. Webcam Protection is available on the app for macOS users who have purchased a Surshark One subscription.
“At Surfshark, we’re constantly searching for innovations and ways to give users the best all-around security, from encrypting their internet traffic to ensuring the safety of their personal ID. This time, we focused on securing users’ webcams as camfecting tactics become increasingly sophisticated, making them really difficult to identify. And the danger might be vicious – after successfully gaining access to a user’s webcam, hackers can watch them 24/7 and gather sensitive information,” said Nedas Kazlauskas, antivirus product owner at Surfshark.
The Surfshark antivirus feature allows users to select which apps can access their camera. In the Surfshark app’s antivirus section, people can add and edit the circle of trusted apps anytime. If no apps are added to the permission list, then all apps will be restricted from accessing the webcam. Users also receive a notification when an untrusted app attempts to access their camera without them knowing.
This feature presently is available only on macOS, but the company plans to introduce it to other operating systems.
More information is available at surfshark.com/research
