LG smart TVs caught logging audio with screen off and snooping on local devices

a month ago by verily to c/privacy

An investigation by Gamers Nexus found LG smart TVs sweep local networks to map phones and nearby devices. Tests also showed the sets can capture microphone audio with the screen off — they then upload data once reconnected to the internet.
chemical_cutthroat 26 points a month ago path: 0 25706925, hotness: undefined, score: 26, children: 7
BCsven 12 points a month ago

Yeah even 10 years ago a researcher found if you plug in a USB drive with movies it was sending the file list to some lg IP address. And collecting all device names/MAC via Samba protocol.

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OwOarchist 5 points a month ago

if you plug in a USB drive with movies it was sending the file list to some lg IP address

The movie names on my USB:

  • ']DROP

  • TABLE

  • USERS

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historicaldocuments 3 points a month ago

And this will have exactly the same effect where almost nobody changes their purchassing habits with regards to LG products. When the 6G cell tower network is rolled out^1^ the chances of detecting bullshit like this will drop to zero.

[1] The 6G network will use very, very high frequencies for communication. This means the range will be greatly reduced and more towers will be needed, but the bandwidth will be much larger. There has already been discussion about there being no need for in-home wifi since the coverage will be good enough with 6G that a personal wifi router wouldn't be needed, and equipment for sweeping for 6G devices will not be cheap.

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Auli 6 points a month ago

Sire except bandwidth. I get unlimited bandwidth at home and it is not the call providers unlimited.

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historicaldocuments 0 points a month ago path: 0 25706925 25708102 25708761 25710671 25712092, hotness: undefined, score: 0, children: 0
OwOarchist 5 points a month ago

Cell providers are not going to provide 6G service for free, though. Will LG (and other spying corps) be willing to pay a carrier subscription in order to be able to connect to their TV without your wifi and spy on you?

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historicaldocuments 1 point a month ago

That's my guess. If the telemetry they're getting never gets any bigger then the actual bandwidth it uses and the revenue from selling advertising packages, etc, would likely make up for it.

Any time I've guessed something along the lines of "there's no way a company would do that" or "people wouldn't let a wiretap inside their home" I've been wrong. The pure TV market is essentially tapped out so the companies in that space are expanding by gathering more and more data so they can grow to make shareholders happy. Eventually there's no more data to gather with current hardware limitations, so they have to get more creative in how they package the same old data into a new product.

I don't doubt for a second that the hardware won't be built into new smart devices after a certain point. Maybe as part of a TV branded "cable service" over 6G, maybe as a requirement for warranty past whatever the minimum is. Who knows how the companies will pay for the NRE because they'll make it back on selling the telemetry to advertisers and marketing companies with subscription services for gravy. Maybe they do point to point connections so that if your neighbor has the service then your TV can talk through theirs. The point is there's a business case to be made for investigating whether it's profitable or not, and the testing like the guys in the video are doing will now require specialized RF equipment that'll be easily out of reach from a cost perspective for a while.

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birdwing 17 points a month ago

Site: "We value your privacy"

1745 partners

Is there someone who can get the text from a non-cancerous source?

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codydodd 2 points a month ago

Shoshana Zuboff's Surveillance Capitalism will be work remembered 500 years from now.. we didnt heed the warnings.

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Codpiece 7 points a month ago

USA specific, or other markets too?

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OwOarchist 7 points a month ago

Repeat after me, kids: "I will not give my wifi password to my TV."

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who 5 points a month ago

Unfortunately, the TVs could still be programmed to opportunistically use open wifi, from a neigbor or passing car or smartphone for example.

And if manufacturers haven't already included cell network radios, they could easily do so.

Repeat after me: Prefer dumb displays over smart TVs.

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