Smart TVs can spy on their
owners
Published: 15 December,
2012, 01:11
Viewers, beware: while
you’re watching TV, your TV might be watching you back. A security firm
discovered that Samsung’s Smart TV can give hackers access to the device’s
built-in camera and microphones, allowing them to watch everything you do.
The Malta-based firm
ReVuln posted a video showing its team of researchers hacking into one of the Samsung
TVs and accessing its settings, channel lists, widgets, USB drives, and remote
control configurations. The security flaw allows hackers to access any and all
personal data stored on the TV.
“We can install malicious
software to gain complete root access to the TV,” the video writes.
With this access, hackers
can use the Smart TVs built-in camera and microphones to see and hear
everything in front of it. Instead of just watching TV, viewers could
themselves be watched without knowing it.
But this flaw isn’t
present in just one specific model. The vulnerability affects all 11 Samsung
televisions of the latest generation. The Smart TVs have many of the same
features as a computer, but lack the same kind of protection. The devices do
not have security features such as firewalls and antivirus software.
Fortunately for concerned
viewers, the problem has a silver lining: hackers must first breach the network
that the television is connected to, as well as know the IP address of the
device. As a result, security breaches would likely only occur as a targeted
attack against an individual, rather than randomly. Unlike an Internet virus, a
hacker would have to exploit the network manually.
Luigi Auriemma, co-founder
of ReVuln, told NBC News that the main
concern with this possibility is that hackers could target specific companies
or individuals whose businesses they have an interest in.
“In our opinion, it’s more
interesting and realistic to think about attacks [against] specific targets
reached via open/weak/hacked Wi-Fi or compromised computers of a network,
instead of mass-exploiting via the Internet,” Auriemma wrote in a statement for
NBC. “That’s interesting due to the effects of the vulnerability (retrieving
information and the possibility of monitoring) which are perfect for targeted
attacks, from a specific person with a TV at home to a company with TVs in its
offices.”
A hacker must be connected
to the local network in order to access the Smart TV – so keeping wifi
passwords secure is very important. Those with stalkers or valuable data on
their device may want to be particularly cautious.
“Consider that little kid
next door that’s good with computers,” said Travis Carelock, content director
and research technologist at Black Hat.
“We’re moving into a whole
different world,” said Trey Ford, general manager of the group. “Growing up,
you and I didn’t have a wirelessly connected camera pointing at the couch.”
Viewers who have any of
the plasma 8000 series, the 7500 LED LCD series, the 8000 LED LCD series or the
9000 LED LCD series might want to make sure to keep personal data off their TVs
and be careful about what they say or do in the device’s presence.
Even though chances might
be slim that the average viewer will have his or her Smart TV hacked into, the
capability of technology to watch its viewers is a chilling glimpse into a more
high-tech future.
“That’s what will make
this a whole lot more fun in the future,” Ford said.
Samsung said it is
launching an investigation to look into the security flaw.
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