Panicky over WikiLeaks TV exposé? It seems overhyped
SAMSUNG is poring over reports based on WikiLeaks documents that the Central Intelligence Agency may have developed a way to access Samsung SmartTVs to control some features of the device and to record conversations within range of the television.
According to the documents, which have not been confirmed by the CIA, the agency was able to use a “Fake Off” mode to make the television appear inactive and record conversations. Only Samsung smart TVs from 2012 and 2013 that run the older 1111, 1112 and 1116 versions of the company’s firmware are affected, the documents said.
“Protecting consumers’ privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung,” the company said. “We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter.”
Before the panic sets in, though, let’s take a step back.
First, The Washington Post has not been able to independently verify what’s described in the WikiLeaks information dump, and the CIA has declined to comment.
Second, the WikiLeaks document describes the hacking of individual, targeted devices. Judging by the information posted on WikiLeaks, the CIA needed to plug a USB drive into a television to get the hack to work. While some say it’s likely that the CIA was also developing the ability to get into televisions remotely, as Forbes reported, there isn’t proof that they’ve succeeded.
“For the vast majority of us, this does not apply to us at all,” said Jan Dawson, an industry analyst at Jackdaw Research. ‘There’s no need to worry for any normal law-abiding citizen, based on what I’ve seen.”
But if you still have concerns, there are some steps to take if you want to turn off the voice recording capabilities on your Samsung television. You can head to your settings menu, then select “Smart Features.” From there, you can choose “Voice Recognition” and turn it off.
“In isolation, this would come and go without problems, but now it’s another reason for Samsung to be in the headlines,” said Dawson. Taken together, he said, it fits into a greater negative narrative about Samsung, which sells at least one-third of the world’s smart televisions. — Washington Post
For the vast majority of us, this does not apply to us at all. There’s no need to worry for any normal lawabiding citizen, based on what I’ve seen. — Jan Dawson, an industry analyst at Jackdaw Research