4 ms·
In theory, that's not enough to keep them offline, if coded deviously enough. If your neighbor, for example, has a syndicated WIFI like Fios or Xfinity, your T
by imglorp 7y ago
In theory, that's not enough to keep them offline, if coded deviously enough.
If your neighbor, for example, has a syndicated WIFI like Fios or Xfinity, your TV can try those. Also, it has 24/7 free time to sit there and break passwords, if needed. Even a slow CPU would score some eventually. And finally, the room is probably full of other devices which themselves may have connections; a TV can communicate ultrasonically with those to exfiltrate your data.
https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/113502/how-to-prevent-iot-devices-from-phoning-home-via-the-neighbors-wifi https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/113502/how-to-p...
https://www.aircrack-ng.org https://www.aircrack-ng.org
https://www.securityweek.com/stealthy-data-exfiltration-possible-headphones-speakers https://www.securityweek.com/stealthy-data-exfiltration-poss...
- close04 7y agoI don’t see a TV doing 24/7 password cracking. Most WiFi passwords are now relatively complex out of the box and a TV would never have a realistic chance of cracking one. And while collecting data is maybe immoral, hacking passwords is as illegal as it gets. It would be orders of magnitude cheaper and safer to build in 4G connectivity and use it to upload the relatively small payloads.
- imglorp 7y ago> build in 4G I wonder how many already have. Are we going to need a spectrum analyzer to watch this junk?
- Animats 7y agoIn the 5G era, probably. TVs will come with 5G connectivity built in and always on. At initial power-up, you'll have to log in with your "television provider". Like the way CBS online works now.
- bduerst 7y agoThe TV wouldn't need to crack a password if it's an XFinity wifi router next door, for example. Those are typically open to all Comcast customers by default, if I remember correctly.
- rtkwe 7y agoWouldn't even really need 4G, 3G or even lower would work if you're just sending text analytics of shows watched. Even the more nefarious spying efforts could go out through text if they bundled a speech to text converter on board.
- close04 7y ago4G was more of a catch all for mobile connectivity. But actually some networks are turning off their 2G and 4G might have a better chance of working for years to come, since a TV is not really replaced that often.
- mnm1 7y agoWe need laws to prevent this kind of shit. However, we have some laws already. If the TV is cracking passwords, who goes to jail? Oh, wait, I forgot laws like the CFAA and other shit like that are only enforced when regular people break them, not when companies break them to make money.