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The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

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Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#151

Post by mulmen »

smarkov wrote: post #139
astazangasta wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my thought too; there doesn't seem to be a way to verify this isn't happening.

If data is being buffered and only sent after the trigger words wouldn't the data transmitted vary depending on how much was said before the trigger word?

Maybe. All uploads could be padded with the maximum buffer size so you can't tell the difference. The buffer could flush only small amounts at a time. Some compression algorithm could be used that becomes more efficient with larger recordings.

What you should be asking with any "smart" device is "can I prove this device will do no harm to me".

Honestly I have never understood the value proposition of any smart device. Why would I want any of that functionality? Never once in my life have I ever wanted to talk to my TV. I'm beginning to (again) question the wisdom of carrying a smartphone.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#154

Post by sureaboutthis »

LinuxBender wrote: post #7

And people thought I was weird for dancing by myself in front of my TV. The poor folks at the CIA will never un-see that.

I find it interesting that so many people think they are so important that the CIA would be interested in them.

Or that they think there are enough intelligence agency employees to bother.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#155

Post by mulmen »

titzer wrote: post #127

The Internet of Things is a surveillance entity's wet dream. And we are sleep-walking right into it.

Everyone is fully aware of the implications here. Even most consumers know the risks, they just don't care. The sad part isn't that people are stupid, it's that they are smart and just don't care.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#157

Post by sureaboutthis »

morpheuskafka wrote: post #11

The CIA should be completely abolished. Unlike the FBI, it does not seek to enforce any laws whatsoever; instead, they operate with absolutely zero oversight, there only rule being that they're not supposed to be involved in domestic matters. I wouldn't be surprised if they tag-team with other friendly agencies like MI6 to spy on each other's domestic targets so as not to violate that rule.

Only if the Chinese, Russians, Germans, et al, promise to do the same thing.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#158

Post by mulmen »

Bendingo wrote: post #56
johnhenry wrote: post #29

Aside from wanting to protect its citizens from foreign spying; I have to wonder if another reason for the US's curtailing Huawei is to simply eliminate the competition?

The western governments (in this case the UK) don't seem serious about the Chinese security scare, when they allow Chinese company to take part in the F-35 program. [1] https://www.rt.com/news/461918-chinese-company-f35-parts/

RT is a propaganda outlet, this isn't compelling.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#160

Post by CloudNetworking »

jmalkin wrote: post #73

I've gotten nothing out of my Smart TV that I couldn't have gotten from a Chromecast, or preferably, a laptop hooked up to a TV. And I've lost a lot. My TV is slow. When I try to control the volume, sometimes I have to wait multiple seconds. And things stop working all the time and require a reboot. I hate the damn thing. It even comes with bloatware for some reason, games I'll never play that it insists on updating…

My Samsung from late 2017 works a charm. The apps and the interface in general are snappy. It comes with the classic remote and a new one with only a few buttons that's pretty amazing (and has a mic to help the CIA on getting the sound too lol).

I paid £750 for the 55" version. I would never buy something like a Toshiba because of the software and I'm keeping a very close eye to Samsung to see for how long I can keep using the integrated software to watch Netflix, Prime Video, NowTV, Disney, etc without a Chromecast or Fire stick or Apple TV (and with only one remote for everything, including my BT set and the Xbox!)

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