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back to article Hey, does your Smart TV have a mic? Enjoy your surveillance, bro

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden told lawyers he met during his sojourn in Hong Kong to put their cell phones in his fridge to thwart any eavesdroppers. But new research suggests he should have been worried about nearby TVs, too. Smart tellies with built-in microphones and storage can be turned into bugging devices by malware …

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      1. Tom 38
        Reply Icon

        just don't plug it into the internet?

        Increasingly, smart TVs are equipped with built-in wifi, so inaction is not a solution.

        Are they also magically hacking said wifi to determine PSK and auto connecting to it? No?

        Not a problem then, and inaction would be a perfect solution.

        If GCHQ want to listen to you through your TV (and they don't, it's usually MI5 or the police, but no matter), they have MI5 watch your house until you leave, they break in and install a listening device in your TV - just like they did with Ahmed Ali's flat in 2006.

        They don't wait until you buy a new Sony, ring up Sony and say "hey, its Bill from MI5 here, gissus a code to connect to the wifi on yous teles".

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        1. Fink-Nottle
          Reply Icon

          > they have MI5 watch your house until you leave, they break in and install a listening device in your TV

          That's what NCC group did in the article: "Installing the bugging software requires physical access to the device, which is how we did it".

          However, Wi-Fi enabled smart TVs auto-connect to an unencrypted wifi network when prompted. In these circumstances, physical access isn't needed - a TV remote booster and a laptop are all that's required to install the malware.

          The OP asserted that a smart TV could remain secure simply by not connecting it to a user's local network. It's a fallacy to assume that is the case with a wi-fi equipped smart TV.

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  2. AceRimmer
    Headmaster

    just add a webcam and voila.... You have a telescreen

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  3. Ole Juul

    TV?

    What TV?

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  4. jason 7

    What about?

    Just buying a dumb monitor instead for TV?

    Do you really need that 50" screen?

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    1. Tromos
      Reply Icon

      Do you really need that 50" screen?

      Of course not, it would be stupidly overlarge. That's why I've settled for a 46" screen.

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    2. DiViDeD
      Reply Icon

      Re: What about?

      "Do you really need that 50" screen?"

      50"?

      Do they really make them that small?

      Mine's the one with the white stick and headache pills in the pocket

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    3. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What about?

      Screen size is relative to room size, my 55" looks small in my lounge, but my old 32" in the bedroom is perfect.....

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    4. jason 7
      Reply Icon

      Re: What about?

      Oh dear how did some of you survive before the flat screens arrived?

      Poor lambs.

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      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What about?

        "Oh dear how did some of you survive before the flat screens arrived?"

        Is there some kind of 'most sanctimonious' prize for Reg commenters I haven't heard about? If the seventh Jason is so opposed to people using technology when it becomes available, I strongly suggest that he do the same regarding his internet connection, and get rid of it, lest we all consider him a slave to consumerism.

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Big Brother

    is Listening to You.

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  6. ecofeco Silver badge

    Smart TVs...

    ...for stupid people.

    Seriously. You could not find a better way to waste money.

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  7. Jim Wilkinson
    Black Helicopters

    Me worried?

    I do have a smart TV. But only in the sense of having internet video playback - yes iPlayer and other multicast services. But I *would* worry about a mic and/or camera. You have to ask the first question - what problems do they solve, followed rapidly by the second question - are there obvious risks? Answers - none & yes.

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  8. razorfishsl

    There is 'all sorts' on the memory images of these devices from china…….

    and yes there are microphones on many of the PCB's, absolutely the BEST hacking devices.

    1. wireless

    2. Blue tooth

    3. NFC

    4. microphone

    5. linux

    6. Cheap.

    Just 'secrete' the device in a bar or other establishment and off you go.

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  9. Andy Roid McUser

    Background noise

    If the NSA/GCHQ want to listen to me fart and slurp my coffee in the morning whilst watching the very early morning news, or my kids running around and shouting louder and louder on top of each other then good luck.

    That said, If I bought a TV with a camera on it.. I would immediately void the warranty and disconnect it. The microphone I'm not so bothered about , quite like the idea of being able to talk to the TV. 'TV OFF PLEASE'. Conversations in our house are beyond mundane, all the secret stuff happens in the shed and office ;-)

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    1. aBloke FromEarth
      Reply Icon

      Re: Background noise

      Perhaps a little bit of black sticky tape might be less of a warranty voider than disconnecting the camera.

      Just a thought there.

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      1. Darryl
        Reply Icon

        Re: Background noise

        Thanks bloke

        It always amazes me how every time there's a mention of a webcam built into something, someone always jumps in with "SMASH IT! BREAK IT! It's the only way!"

        Black electrical tape - cheap and non-warranty-voiding

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        1. Andy Roid McUser
          Reply Icon

          Re: Background noise

          Bodge solution yes.. put sticky tape over the web cam on the television. However, if you happen to be an electronics engineer, appreciate your house looking nice and tidy, then its best to not make it blindly obvious to the people who visit know that you've got a tin foil hat in the closet.

          The elegant solution is the one you can't see.

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  10. Daz555

    I'm not concerned about having a TV connected to the Net - I'm not "logged in" to anything on it like Facebook or Netflix so no risk there and web browsing on a smart TV is a shambolic experience - again no risk there because I don't bother.

    I would be concerned if my TV had a mic or camera though. Handily it does not. Probably because I'm too tight to spend the money on such a TV.

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  11. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    " internet-connected coffee makers and such "

    Nobody, and I mean nobody, will ever convince me that my household appliances have any need of being "connected".

    A coffee maker is to make coffee, not listen to the radio. For that, I have a radio.

    Actually, I'll make it really simple : now that we have tablets that are readable and can connect to them thar intarwebs, there is no good reason to connect anything else.

    The best appliance is a dumb appliance.

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    1. atlatl265
      Reply Icon

      Re: " internet-connected coffee makers and such "

      Although it has not been mentioned specifically, BluRay players are now "Smart" and come with WiFi built in. Same as the TV's. One specific company, seems to be pushing to make the BluRay player the Internet connection to you home entertainment center. A friend of mine just got a Samxxxx "Smart TV" and it has WiFi with WPA2 built in. I don't know about the "Smart" BluRay players or even the writers for that matter, whether or not that they have WPA2 to go along with their WiFi kits. Just words of caution, as I agree completely that these items should NOT be connected to the Internet.

      atlatl265

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  12. Jim 59

    Sigh

    Seems to be no universal solution for this problem. Add it to the growing pile of unacceptable privacy invasions which, sooner or later, the consumer will put a match to.

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    1. Fading
      Reply Icon
      Gimp

      Re: Sigh

      May I be the first to offer my apologies to whomever has been using my TV's mic and webcam to spy on me. I hope the therapy goes well and that the agency you work for foots the bill.

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  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just a thought...

    Speakers can be used as microphones... Do we need to worry about disconnecting them and watching everything with subtitles?

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  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I got a BD-player with a Youtube app

    That's enough smartness. I won't connect my TV to the net as well.

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  15. HarryBl

    I hope they don't turn my camera on while I'm watching the porn channel...

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