Insecure
I've discovered a huge vulnerability in TV sets from almost every manufacturer. Apparently they use an unencrypted, openly known (and often documented) broadcast method to control them.
You could be subject to sniffing attacks that determine your choice of TV viewing, traffic and content analysis that determines which of your family is near that TV, remote command attacks that could change channel and influence you politically or present a fake channel instead of one you thought you chose. Selection of paid content while you're not present. Denial of service.
All this with just line-of-sight access to your window : no need to tap infrastructure, you can do it from a van in the road,. a handheld appliance from across the street, or a laser from the next block of flats.Cost of entry is low using arduino-level hardware. Cheap products have been on the market for years to facilitate some attacks. For extra fun and on-topicness, I can imagine a remote attack via a compromised light bulb. PoC needed.
ps. I don't watch TV any more and never leave it in standby if my partner uses it. So I don't care. Perhaps you don't either. I made this post because you don't have to be on the internet to be a victim of remote control device takeover. Moaning about IoT failures like they're a new thing and the result of people using unnecessary technology is valid, but 50 years too late.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
