Q&A: How Can I Stop My TV From Spying On Me?

The publication by WikiLeaks of documents it says are from the CIA’s secret hacking program describe tools that can turn a world of increasingly networked, camera- and microphone-equipped devices into eavesdroppers.

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Smart televisions and automobiles now have on-board computers and microphones, joining the ubiquitous smartphones, laptops and tablets that have had microphones and cameras as standard equipment for a decade. That the CIA has created tools to turn them into listening posts surprises no one in the security community.

Q: HOW WORRIED SHOULD CONSUMERS BE WHO HAVE SURROUNDED THEMSELVES WITH THESE DEVICES?

A: Importantly, the intrusion tools highlighted by the leak do not appear to be instruments of mass surveillance. So, it’s not as if everyone’s TV or high-tech vehicle is at risk.

“It’s unsurprising, and also somewhat reassuring, that these are tools that appear to be targeted at specific people’s (devices) by compromising the software on them - as opposed to tools that decrypt the encrypted traffic over the internet,” said Matt Blaze, University of Pennsylvania computer scientist.