4 ms·

Is Your TV Watching You?

19 points by eamann 13y ago

ToastyMallows 13y ago
> How easy would it be for one of these holes to let someone control my TV? My webcam? Easy. Article doesn't provide any examples. Does anyone else have examples of this happening or is this just FUD?
- fuzzywalrus 13y ago
  Agreed. There was the instance of LG being outed for collecting the names of images/movies/etc read from USB media being reported back to a central server but not in the same Orwellian sense that webcams forever monitoring video streams and archiving conversations. I haven't read of any exploits of smart TVs being used to monitor subject. Feasible? Sure. Reality? Probably not.
  - eamann 13y ago
    I haven't read of anything specific to smart TVs either. But here's my concern: this can (and is) happening with webcam-enabled, network-connected computers. A smart TV is essentially just a computer that's _always_ network-connected and, as evidenced by someone walking into a room and saying "TV on," always on as well. Feasible? Very. Reality? We don't hear about every detected exploit ... Smart TVs are new enough that, even if this _is_ happening today, we won't hear about it in the media or online for quite some time.
    - eamann 13y ago
      There's also further insight in the comments: http://eamann.com/tech/is-your-tv-watching-you/#comment-2529 http://eamann.com/tech/is-your-tv-watching-you/#comment-2529
- eamann 13y ago
  Not FUD. It happens: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-to-activate-macbook-webcams-without-green-warning-light/ http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-.... I've used similar approaches to check on my home office from remote locations. Given, I have the correct credentials to get in to my home network, but I'm using off-the-shelf tech here so there's a high potential for hidden zero-days to exist. In college I actually discovered (6 months after it started) that a group of students had hacked my PC and were using it to host a private message board. Had no idea until someone from the school contacted me and told me to shut down my "unapproved social network" ...
TrainedMonkey 13y ago
What about Kinect, and equivalent Sony offering. These things communicate with central servers to update firmware regularly. So in a single point of vulnerability you can get access to millions of always on cameras and microphones across entire world.
prestadige 13y ago
Does anyone know if the NSA can watch me on my iMac without the little light coming on?
- fragmede 13y ago
  Probably: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-to-activate-macbook-webcams-without-green-warning-light/ http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-...
- d0 13y ago
  Not if you disconnect the camera and mic. Bit of a pain to do on an iMac but easy on an MBP (pre-Retina).
  - olbert 13y ago
    i put stickers over any laptop and slate cameras unless I want to use them. Audio is harder to control. Why don't hardware manufacturers provide a privacy shutter that obscures the built in cameras unless you choose to open them?
    - ToastyMallows 13y ago
      I imagine the business value just isn't there.
- xutopia 13y ago
  It is physically possible to turn that camera on without turning the light on but it requires a firmware update. If your computer is compromised or has a backdoor there is no telling what happens there.
- sehugg 13y ago
  More likely a different three-letter agency: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/06/352ba174-5397-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story_2.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/06...
ARothfusz 13y ago
I think it is kind of funny that Samsung makes these smart TVs that watch and listen to you all the time, but if you visit their campus in Seoul they put little stickers over all the camera ports on your phones and laptops, over your USB ports, and you're not allowed to bring in USB sticks at all. http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/tv/2013_vi/mobile/html/index.html http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/tv/2013_vi/mobile/ht...
newman8r 13y ago
In soviet Russia...

19 points by eamann 13y ago

> How easy would it be for one of these holes to let someone control my TV? My webcam? Easy. Article doesn't provide any examples. Does anyone else have examples of this happening or is this just FUD?

fuzzywalrus 13y ago
Agreed. There was the instance of LG being outed for collecting the names of images/movies/etc read from USB media being reported back to a central server but not in the same Orwellian sense that webcams forever monitoring video streams and archiving conversations. I haven't read of any exploits of smart TVs being used to monitor subject. Feasible? Sure. Reality? Probably not.
- eamann 13y ago
  I haven't read of anything specific to smart TVs either. But here's my concern: this can (and is) happening with webcam-enabled, network-connected computers. A smart TV is essentially just a computer that's _always_ network-connected and, as evidenced by someone walking into a room and saying "TV on," always on as well. Feasible? Very. Reality? We don't hear about every detected exploit ... Smart TVs are new enough that, even if this _is_ happening today, we won't hear about it in the media or online for quite some time.
  - eamann 13y ago
    There's also further insight in the comments: http://eamann.com/tech/is-your-tv-watching-you/#comment-2529 http://eamann.com/tech/is-your-tv-watching-you/#comment-2529
eamann 13y ago
Not FUD. It happens: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-to-activate-macbook-webcams-without-green-warning-light/ http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-.... I've used similar approaches to check on my home office from remote locations. Given, I have the correct credentials to get in to my home network, but I'm using off-the-shelf tech here so there's a high potential for hidden zero-days to exist. In college I actually discovered (6 months after it started) that a group of students had hacked my PC and were using it to host a private message board. Had no idea until someone from the school contacted me and told me to shut down my "unapproved social network" ...

TrainedMonkey 13y ago

What about Kinect, and equivalent Sony offering. These things communicate with central servers to update firmware regularly. So in a single point of vulnerability you can get access to millions of always on cameras and microphones across entire world.

prestadige 13y ago

Does anyone know if the NSA can watch me on my iMac without the little light coming on?

fragmede 13y ago
Probably: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-to-activate-macbook-webcams-without-green-warning-light/ http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/18/software-allows-hackers-...
d0 13y ago
Not if you disconnect the camera and mic. Bit of a pain to do on an iMac but easy on an MBP (pre-Retina).
- olbert 13y ago
  i put stickers over any laptop and slate cameras unless I want to use them. Audio is harder to control. Why don't hardware manufacturers provide a privacy shutter that obscures the built in cameras unless you choose to open them?
  - ToastyMallows 13y ago
    I imagine the business value just isn't there.
xutopia 13y ago
It is physically possible to turn that camera on without turning the light on but it requires a firmware update. If your computer is compromised or has a backdoor there is no telling what happens there.
sehugg 13y ago
More likely a different three-letter agency: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/06/352ba174-5397-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story_2.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/06...

ARothfusz 13y ago

I think it is kind of funny that Samsung makes these smart TVs that watch and listen to you all the time, but if you visit their campus in Seoul they put little stickers over all the camera ports on your phones and laptops, over your USB ports, and you're not allowed to bring in USB sticks at all. http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/tv/2013_vi/mobile/html/index.html http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/tv/2013_vi/mobile/ht...

newman8r 13y ago

In soviet Russia...