How TVs are watching you. Samsung management admitted that their smart TVs spy on their owners

The use of this function is officially mentioned in the privacy policy of Samsung devices. The Daily Beast (www.thedailybeast.com) writes that Samsung has notified customers that users are advised not to mention personal secrets and classified information near company devices with Smart functions TV.

Evgeny Kaspersky recently mentioned the dangers associated with using Smart TV ( CEO Kaspersky Lab). The essence of his warning was that exploitation of TV firmware exploits would begin very soon. In turn, this will lead to the spread of viruses that will be downloaded directly through repositories and steal personal and commercial information from TV cameras and microphones.

As you can see, there is no need to steal anything; the TV already has built-in spying functions, as Samsung does not hesitate to say.

A source from the Daily Beast mentioned the novel "1984" by George Orwell, in which all citizens lived with the idea that at every moment of time they were being watched by a special service through special devices"telescreens".

“The telescreen worked for reception and transmission. He caught every word, if it was spoken in a not too quiet whisper; Moreover, as long as Winston remained in the field of view of the cloudy plate, he was not only heard, but also seen. Of course, no one knew whether he was being watched at that moment or not. How often and on what schedule the thought police connect to your cable - one could only guess about that. It is possible that they were watching everyone - and around the clock. In any case, they could connect at any time. You had to live - and you lived, out of habit, which turned into instinct - with the knowledge that your every word was being overheard and your every move, until the lights went out, was being watched.”

At the same Samsung time commented on the fact to TechCrunch that only she would get the information, since everyone Smart data TV will be well encrypted. It was also mentioned that data collection can be turned off if desired. Belarusian buyers should keep in mind that access to a full service (change of region when buying a TV in the EU countries, etc.) can only be obtained through the service menu.

From the author: okay Samsung, with their Eastern mentality, now imagine American Apple. What are the collection options? personal information This company has the ability to collect voice and video messages, user preferences, age, gender and biometric data (fingerprints in Touch ID).

It turned out that the owners Samsung Smart TV can be heard not only by those who are near it and with an overly “smart” TV. To confirm this, here is an entry from the company’s official website:

1. You can control your SmartTV and use many of its features using voice commands.

2. If you enable voice recognition, you can control your SmartTV using your voice. For voice recognition to work, some voice commands (along with information about your device, including device identifiers) may be sent to third party service, which converts speech into voice or code needed for voice recognition to work. In addition, Samsung may collect and your device may record voice commands and related text so that we can provide you with voice recognition features and evaluate and improve their performance. Please be aware that if the words you speak include personal or sensitive information, this information will be among the data recorded and transmitted to the third party when you use voice recognition.

3. If you do not enable voice recognition, you will not be able to use interactive voice recognition features, but you will be able to control the TV using certain preset voice commands. Although Samsung will not collect the words you speak, it may still collect relevant text information and other usage data for the purpose of evaluating and improving the performance of the service.

Thus, Samsung is actually spying on its users, and it remains unknown which “third parties” the voice data is transferred to and how it is processed. However, this is not the first time - several years ago TP Vision, which produces Philips TVs, was seen spying on users, and later the owner of an LG TV noticed that he was being followed. Then I was able to disable tracking by rummaging through the device settings.

In the case of Samsung, you can disable surveillance, but the voice recognition function will not be fully available, and the smart TV will only obey limited quantity commands Select and buy TVs by good prices Can .

Mikhail Kuznetsov, TV site expert: “Samsung TVs are most likely to use cloud technologies for some voice functions. This is why data is transferred from the TV to remote server, as well as for collecting statistics and other official purposes. Naturally, something “extra” may end up in this array, which is what the manufacturer warns about in the above quote. Deliberate espionage is perhaps an exaggeration. It should be noted that similar technologies They are also used on other equipment, including Smart TVs of other brands. In theory, all this could be hackable, with access to audio and video information even if the screen is turned off, but the TV is connected to the network and is in “sleep mode.” In my opinion, the problem is somewhat exaggerated, and unauthorized access to smart TVs is not yet common».

Samsung smart TVs send sensitive user information to third parties. The device manufacturer itself warned about this, equipping them with a voice recognition function.

Samsung's privacy policy for smart TVs warns against sending personal information to third parties, so the company recommends refraining from telling your secrets in front of the TV, the Daily Beast writes. " Samsung Company may collect and your device may record voice commands and related text so that we can provide voice recognition features to you and evaluate and improve their performance. Please be aware that if the words you speak include personal or sensitive information, this information will be among the data recorded and transmitted to a third party when you use voice recognition,” reads Samsung’s privacy policy document. This warning applies to TV models with voice control.

Electronic Frontier Foundation member Parker Higgins compared the warning to a passage from the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell. It uses televisions with built-in cameras that cannot be turned off to spy on people. They are called telescreens.

“The telescreen worked for reception and transmission. He caught every word, if it was spoken in a not too quiet whisper; Moreover, as long as Winston remained in the field of view of the cloudy plate, he was not only heard, but also seen. Of course, no one knew whether he was being watched at that moment or not. How often and on what schedule the thought police connect to your cable - one could only guess about that. It is possible that they were watching everyone - and around the clock. In any case, they could connect at any time. You had to live - and you lived, out of habit, which turned into instinct - with the knowledge that your every word was being overheard and your every move, until the lights went out, was being watched,” Higgins quotes from the novel.

Samsung Electronics told TechCrunch that it adheres to industry standards for information security in its TVs, and data is transferred to servers in encrypted form. If desired, the function of recording voice commands can be disabled, the manufacturer said.

The issue of privacy when using smart TVs has been raised many times before.

In November 2013, it was discovered that LG smart TVs were sending some unwanted data to the company's servers, including information about the channels being watched and the names of files stored on the connected TV. external USB drive. A British blogger with the nickname DoctorBeet, who found out about this, wrote that data continues to be sent even if this function is turned off in the settings.

In August 2013, Black Hat conference participants Aaron Grattafiori and Josh Yavor talked about the vulnerabilities they found in televisions Samsung lines 2012, allowing hackers to remotely gain access to the camera built into the device and Facebook applications and Skype, which the owner uses on the device.

It is quite difficult to accept the fact that we are living in a “sci-fi” world right now. Smartphones are true gems of engineering, housed in 200-gram cases that fit in your jeans pocket. However, there will always be people who will be able to turn these wonderful technologies against us in ways that are not so easy to guess.

The smartphone can recognize the text you type on the keyboard

If you work on a computer, then you probably keep your favorite smartphone on the table where you work. Indeed, if they call you, you won’t have to frantically take your phone out of your pocket; it’s also uncomfortable to sit with it. After all, if mobile phones were designed for convenience, why not just keep them within reach of your hands?

Researchers from Georgia Tech University have turned the smartphone into a real villain that knows your every keystroke. Passwords, email, personal correspondence - your phone can quietly “eavesdrop” on all this.

If you think that a microphone or camera is involved in surveillance, then you are mistaken. Still trickier. When you type text on the keyboard, the smartphone's accelerometer records the vibrations of the table on which the device lies, which are elusive to humans. And depending on the distance between the keys and the time between keystrokes, it’s difficult mathematical algorithm determines which buttons you press.

Phones with accelerometer sensitivity levels like the iPhone 4 can easily understand what text you type with up to 80% accuracy.

Since requests from an unfamiliar application to gain access to the camera or microphone can arouse suspicion among any users, such a program can easily turn out to be a Trojan horse in some completely harmless application, like another free flashlight with a beautiful design.

The humble accelerometer is rarely protected by security settings, because who could have imagined that the screen rotation sensor would suddenly be capable of intercepting your correspondence? Fortunately, such hacker attack It's easy to beat - just don't put the phone next to the keyboard.

Smartphones can steal data from credit cards just by being near them

If after this phrase you are ready to finally throw your phone out the window and live like in the good old 90s, read on. The only problem is that every smartphone that is nearby is a potential threat, no matter whether it is yours or not. A modern Android device can easily steal your credit card details and order for eBay products for your developer.

Fortunately, not all cards are susceptible to attack; this only applies to “contactless” ones. According to preliminary data, there are tens of millions of such credit cards in the United States alone, and all of them are designed in such a way that they can be read from a distance. If you have such cards, you will soon have to keep them in a lead wallet.

Thus, all that is needed for theft is modern phone with NFC and a special scanner program. IN packed with people In a subway car, you won’t even be able to understand that someone has “reached” into your pocket. An attacker will silently sneak through your thickest coat and thickest wallet and steal your credit card over the airwaves.

The creator of the program showed it at DefCon 2012, which seems to hint. The application is also capable of transferring credit card information to other phones. A credit card just stolen in London can be used in seconds to pay in any part of the world.

Fake charging stations with a surprise

Imagine the situation: you are sitting in a coffee shop, about to take a photo of a huge sandwich or beautiful foam on your coffee, but your phone suddenly reminds you that there is only 2% battery charge left and it will turn off in just a minute. But here, fortunately, there is free station for charging with different USB cables.

You are connecting a “dying” gadget. A familiar sound is heard, and the battery slowly begins to gain the desired percentage. You are saved! Meanwhile hidden device on the other side of the box collects personal data from your phone (saved passwords, self-portraits in the bathroom, etc.), and at the same time sends viruses to you.

In general, connecting your smartphone to unknown cables is not a good idea. best idea. This way you can boost the self-esteem of a home-grown hacker. By the way, at the DefCon exhibition in 2011, 360 people fell into this trap. The event is held once a year and brings together professional hackers and security experts from around the world. In other words, 360 professionals were fooled by this very obvious and therefore even more unexpected hack.

Fortunately, the charging module belonged to Aries Security, a company dedicated to information security. Instead of stealing user information, a reminder to experts was displayed on the screen: "Don't connect personal devices to questionable email accounts... especially at a hacker conference."

Whereas charging device installed at airports and shopping centers, are most likely safe, charging stations with a surprise can be waiting anywhere - the number of companies renting them for their needs is steadily growing. So, perhaps, it is better to carry a cable and adapter on electrical network with yourself or just cope with the urge to tweet nonstop.

Well, by the way, identity theft is a small thing compared to the following statement.

Fake base stations can turn your phone into a remote listening device

Even if you bought the most perfect protective case, do not connect strange cables to your phone and keep antivirus programs updated, you are not protected. From air attacks.

Professor Ralf-Philippe Weinmann from the University of Luxembourg demonstrated that hackers can attack a smartphone over the air, completely bypassing operating system and antivirus software. It's about about hacking the radio processor.

This type of attack requires special equipment that simulates a tower cellular communications and makes the phone “think” it is connected to the network. Once the connection is established, hackers gain control of everything the radio processor controls. And this is the ability to make calls, a microphone, and in some models even a camera.

Weinmann presented his work at the 2011 Black Hat conference, showing how a fake cell could remotely and silently “answer” a phone, and then live record sound from his microphone. This is roughly the same technology Batman used in The Dark Knight. However, you don't have to be as rich as Bruce Wayne to use it - the cell costs about $4,500.

A secret photo app will help you follow you in 3D mode

Finally, we come to the PlaceRaider application, which can generate full 3D images of indoor spaces. The program, which masquerades as a harmless photo app, takes random photos throughout the day. The footage is then sent to a central server where it is analyzed and combined into a 3D detailed image of your home, office or terrorist lair.

The technology is reminiscent of the one Tony Stark used in Iron Man 3 to solve the crime of a suicide bomber. True, the film was released in 2013, and the PlaceRaider program was developed and tested in the fall of 2012.

The tests were successful: PlaceRaider, in the hands of unsuspecting office workers, not only recreated the environment of the premises in high resolution, but also took a lot of screenshots from monitors, recorded receipt data, random documents on tables, and even prepared large photographs of keys.

The power of smartphones is one of the technological achievements of our time. These devices carry a set of sensors for monitoring environment, powerful processors data processing and are capable of transmitting and receiving information to high speed. Do not forget that all this can turn against the owner.

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masterok Samsung TVs record their owners' conversations

Damn it! Not only do phones send our conversations and files to unknown destinations, laptops monitor us via webcam, but there’s also this! And I was just telling it yesterday in front of the TV... oh well, let’s go.

And don’t say later that I didn’t warn you that...

... Samsung smart TVs send sensitive user information to third parties. The device manufacturer itself warned about this, equipping them with a voice recognition function.

Samsung's privacy policy for smart TVs warns against sending personal information to third parties, so the company recommends refraining from telling your secrets in front of the TV, the Daily Beast writes.

“Samsung may collect and your device may record voice commands and related text so that we can provide you with voice recognition features and evaluate and improve their performance. Please be aware that if the words you speak include personal or sensitive information, this information will be among the data recorded and transferred to a third party when you use voice recognition,” reads Samsung’s privacy policy document. This warning applies to TV models with voice control.

Electronic Frontier Foundation member Parker Higgins compared the warning to a piece of text from George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984. It uses televisions with built-in cameras that cannot be turned off to spy on people. They are called telescreens.

“The telescreen worked for reception and transmission. He caught every word, if it was spoken in a not too quiet whisper; Moreover, as long as Winston remained in the field of view of the cloudy plate, he was not only heard, but also seen. Of course, no one knew whether he was being watched at that moment or not. How often and on what schedule the thought police connect to your cable - one could only guess about that. It is possible that they were watching everyone - and around the clock. In any case, they could connect at any time. You had to live - and you lived, out of habit, which turned into instinct - with the knowledge that your every word was being overheard and your every move, until the lights went out, was being watched,” Higgins quotes from the novel.

Samsung Electronics told TechCrunch that it adheres to industry standards for information security in its TVs, and data is transferred to servers in encrypted form. If desired, the function of recording voice commands can be disabled, the manufacturer said.

The issue of privacy when using smart TVs has been raised many times before.

In November 2013, it was discovered that LG smart TVs were sending some unwanted data to the company's servers, including information about the channels being watched and the names of files stored on an external USB drive connected to the TV. A British blogger with the nickname DoctorBeet, who found out about this, wrote that data continues to be sent even if this function is turned off in the settings.

In August 2013, Black Hat conference participants Aaron Grattafiori and Josh Yavor talked about the vulnerabilities they found in Samsung TVs line in 2012, allowing hackers to remotely gain access to the camera built into the device and the Facebook and Skype applications that the owner uses on the device.