FBI director says he covers his webcam and shares other security recommendations

Reuters

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Before discussing his personal security procedures with an audience at a Washington think tank on Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey joked about his refusal to testify about Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

"Obviously I want to talk about the email investigation while I'm here," Comey said during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, poking fun at his role in the controversy.

"Don't you dare," Comey joked to Assistant Attorney General John Carlin about Clinton's emails before they began an informal interview on the evolving national-security threats since 9/11.

A focal point of the discussion was the importance of cybersecurity, as Comey emphasized that cyberattacks are "inevitable."

"As a good consumer, read about the security of devices and what steps people are taking to protect you," Comey said.

"Anybody who wants to do harm to us and to our lives just has another way to do it. I think it's inevitable and we are moving in that direction, so I think people just need to continue to be sensible in their own sort of security hygiene and asking good questions and not assuming that somebody else has thought about this or someone else has taken care of their security."

Reuters

Carlin asked, "Do you still have a piece of tape over your cameras at home?"

"Heck yeah, oh, heck yeah," Comey quickly said.

"I get mocked for a lot of things, and I am much mocked for that, but I hope people lock their cars," Comey said. "Lock your doors at night. I have an alarm system — if you have an alarm system, you should use it. I use mine."

"It's not crazy that the FBI director cares about personal security as well, and so I think people ought to take responsibility for their own safety and security," Comey continued. "There are some sensible things you ought to be doing, and that's one of them."

"If you go into any government office, we all have our little camera things that sit on top of the screen, they all have a little lid that closes down on them," Comey said. "You do that so people who don't have authority don't look at you. I think that's a good thing."

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