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WikiLeaks Releases New CIA Secret: Tapping Microphones On Some Samsung TVs (fossbytes.com)
FossBytes reports:
The whistleblower website Wikileaks has published another set of hacking tools belonging to the American intelligence agency CIA. The latest revelation includes a user guide for CIA's "Weeping Angel" tool... derived from another tool called "Extending" which belongs to UK's intelligence agency MI5/BTSS, according to Wikileaks. Extending takes control of Samsung F Series Smart TV. The highly detailed user guide describes it as an implant "designed to record audio from the built-in microphone and egress or store the data."
According to the user guide, the malware can be deployed on a TV via a USB stick after configuring it on a Linux system. It is possible to transfer the recorded audio files through the USB stick or by setting up a WiFi hotspot near the TV. Also, a Live Liston Tool, running on a Windows OS, can be used to listen to audio exfiltration in real-time. Wikileaks mentioned that the two agencies, CIA and MI5/BTSS made collaborative efforts to create Weeping Angel during their Joint Development Workshops.
According to the user guide, the malware can be deployed on a TV via a USB stick after configuring it on a Linux system. It is possible to transfer the recorded audio files through the USB stick or by setting up a WiFi hotspot near the TV. Also, a Live Liston Tool, running on a Windows OS, can be used to listen to audio exfiltration in real-time. Wikileaks mentioned that the two agencies, CIA and MI5/BTSS made collaborative efforts to create Weeping Angel during their Joint Development Workshops.
If we [society] really cared about privacy, we would require that ALL devices that contain a microphone or camera contain HARD switches that can cut them on/off at will. Not soft switches under software/firmware control. The reality is that ANY device with hard switches that contains a computer and a mic or camera can be broken into and used as a spy device. Be it a TV, phone, monitor, laptop, car, Echo, refrigerator, toy, whatever. And often there is no easy way to really/truly turn "off" the device (and then, of course, you can't use any other function).
Although it is relatively easy to disable cameras by sticking tape over them.... the same is not true for microphones. Of course, the manufacturers would scream about it, since it would add $0.25 to their $800+ devices and increase the mass by 0.0001%.
And regarding microphones, it isn't just about what you might be saying- sophisticated software can be used to detect all kinds of things like when you are present, where you might be, who you are with, what you are doing, even what you might be typing.