Last updated: January 1, 2023
Increasingly, the technology is part of our lives. The dream of houses where every object is connected, which was science fiction ten years ago, is becoming a reality.
Among these new connected objects, we find the Smart TV who are now from real small computers which can also do everything that a conventional television could do before.
But like everything that is Smart, understand that has computer applications, well, these Smart TV, they can be hacked and very often, we tend to pay less attention to it.
In fact, we are not really used to get your TV hacked and yet, it can have consequences. In this article we will see how you are spying through your smart tv, But also how to protect yourself.
What Cybercriminals Can Do With Your Smart TV
As we have just said, it is possible to have your Smart TV hacked and the consequences can quickly become serious for you. Here we will see what hackers can do once in your tv.
Spy on you through camera and microphone
The first thing these hackers will try to do is simply take control of the camera or microphone of your Smart TV. Indeed, more and more recent models embed these two elements;
For pirates, that's blessed bread. Indeed, by succeeding in having access to your camera or to your television microphone, they will quite simply be able to record what is happening in front of them.
Therefore, these audio or video recordings of your bedroom or living room can be used by pirates to blackmail you. Indeed, they can for example threaten to broadcast that recording if you don't pay.
Recover your passwords and other private data
Very often, pirates focus on image recovery via Smart TVs, but as long as they are back, nothing stops them from checking your passwords either.
As we have said, Smart TVs have today become small computers and it is possible to browse the internet with them. However, we often pay much less attention to security on a TV than on a computer.
Therefore, malicious hackers could retrieve connection information or even worse, payment information if you bring them in while your television is infected.
Once your TV is infected, all browsing history, passwords and other private data become accessible to hackers. And they will not miss the opportunity to use this information in ransomware attacks or from them sell on the darknet.
In summary, once in your TV, a hacker can:
- Access your camera and microphone.
- Make recordings.
- Have access to connection data.
- Have access to bank details.
- Sell your data on the darknet.
How to protect yourself?
As you've seen, it's scary to know what hackers can do once they've managed to break into your Smart TV, but how do you stop them and avoid this?
1 # Turn off mic and camera if you don't need them
The first thing to do is to tell yourself that the your television camera and microphone, you will not necessarily need it every day and therefore deactivate them in the TV options.
Indeed, this way, you are sure that you will not have any problems in that regard. What we will also advise you is to simply use a technique well known to laptop users.
It's not necessarily aesthetic, but a small piece of post-it in front of your Smart TV camera will also do the trick. It will simply block access to the image and there is nothing the hacker can do to remove it.
# 2 Update your TV software
As with computers and phones, updates are important. They fix security holes that can be used to hack your SmartTV.
Updates usually bring new functionality and also fix security vulnerabilities or remove various bugs.
# 3 Secure your router
With all the other smart devices you might have, your TV will likely connect to the Internet through a router in your home.
And as the Hacking a router can affect an entire Wi-Fi network, it can be even more dangerous. Not only will this affect the speed of your Internet connection, but it also exposes all your connected devices.
So make sure your router is also secure and protected. To do this, watch this tutorial: How to check if your router is hacked?
#4 Do not download applications outside of the stores
Finally, the fourth thing not to do is togo to sites that are not safe and download applications that are outside the official store of your Smart TV.
We understand that this can be frustrating at times, but keep in mind that your TV is much less protected than your computer and that by downloading things directly from the stores, you risk downloading a virus as well.
In summary, to avoid any problem, you must:
- Mute the microphone and camera when not in use.
- Hide the camera with a post-it.
- Use one of the strong passwords.
- Secure and protect your router.
- Avoid going to sites that are not trusted.
- Never download applications outside of the stores.
Finally, know that SmartTVs are essentially computers that run an operating system. So the same risks that apply to computers also apply to smart TVs.