Wikileaks dump: Could the CIA hack your smart TV?
The answer is a decided maybe:
A trove of documents released Tuesday by WikiLeaks claim that a CIA surveillance program can target everyday electronic gadgets — including smart TVs, smartphones and even cars.
The spy program can snoop on unsuspecting Americans, WikiLeaks says, by turning the gadgets into recording devices that can capture conversations.
The agency’s “Weeping Angel” program — believed to be developed along with British agency MI5 — allegedly captured audio, but not video, after the Samsung smart TVs were compromised.
WikiLeaks releases thousands of alleged CIA hacking documents
According to WikiLeaks, even when the TV appears to be turned off, it “operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the internet to a covert CIA server.”While the TVs are in what’s called “fake-off mode,” the screen appears off and the LEDs on the front of the set dim as if you’d turned off your TV.
Nonetheless, the TV remains “on” and capable of recording conversations after the CIA has hacked the TV remotely.
The TV’s microphones are normally there for viewers to make voice commands, such as requests for movie recommendations. Other information that could be gleaned off of one’s smart TV include browser histories and WiFi information.
