Photo reveals that even Mark Zuckerberg puts tape over his webcam

Even billions of dollars can't break some hacker habits.
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has been increasingly willing to share moments from his family and work life.

But a photo he posted on Tuesday, intended to promote Instagram's user milestone numbers, may have ended up revealing a little more about Zuckerberg than he intended: Dude hasn't lost any of his hacker caution when it comes to protecting his privacy. 

A couple of eagle-eyed observers pointed out that the laptop on Zuckerberg's desk not only has tape covering the webcam, but there's also tape covering the Apple laptop's dual microphones. That's right, even one of the most elite (and richest) coders on the planet still takes rudimentary measures to ensure that nobody is spying on him. 


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This inadvertent reveal comes just weeks after Zuckerberg's social media accounts were hacked, one of which reportedly had the not-so-complicated password "dadada."

And if Zuckerberg's hacker background and role as a major tech leader aren't enough to convince you that he isn't just being paranoid, consider the fact that earlier this year FBI Director James Comey admitted that he puts tape over his webcam.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

This kind of thinking used to be the domain of conspiracy theorists and a certain breed of hacker, but Zuckerberg just took it mainstream. In fact, in the run-up to the second season of Mr. Robot, the show about a hacker conspiracy, USA Networks even went so far as to send out branded webcam covers (which this journalist happily uses). 

No, government spies probably don't care what you're saying or doing in front of your computer. 

But if it's good enough for the creator of the largest social network on the planet, maybe it's worth sticking some tape on your own webcam. You won't look paranoid anymore; instead, you can call yourself a billionaire tech mogul in training.

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