Apple webcam spyware artist investigated by Secret Service

The US Secret Service has confiscated computer equipment from a Brooklyn artist who installed unauthorised software on computers at two New York Apple stores.

25-year-old Kyle McDonald installed software onto MacBooks and iMacs, that automatically took photographs every minute of Apple customers as they stared at the computers they used in the Apple stores.

These surreptitiously-taken photographs were then posted on a Tumblr blog and made into a video.

McDonald says that he asked permission from staff to take pictures inside the store, but it’s unclear whether he had permission to install onto the computers what sounds suspiciously like spyware. And there are obvious privacy questions that might be raised too.

McDonald did what everyone does when the Secret Service comes knocking on your day these days. He posted a message on Twitter…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.