Good evening and welcome back to another post from ToBeSecured. It's currently 9:10 at night while I'm typing this post. To those of you who aren't following my Instagram page - ToBeSecured, I have posted numerous posts pertaining to user privacy and security in the tech world. As a Christmas gift to myself, I'll be purchasing a new laptop with plenty of space so I can edit and upload my content to YouTube for my non social-media folks. Thank you all for supporting me thus far and I look forward to the new year and more ideas to unfold.
While sitting at my desk earlier, I was on Medium, scrolling and looking for some dope content to read and possibly share with you all, but I wasn't able to locate anything unfortunately. But what I did come across a couple of days ago via Instagram is a post that was circulating about Smart TV's posing as a threat to consumers because hackers can exploit the technology and spy on people.
As Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales came to a halt earlier this week, a lot of people have purchased Smart TV's and the FBI warns against them being vulnerable to intrusion. "In addition to outlining how new advanced technological features risk allowing television manufacturers and app developers to snoop on consumers, the bureau says malicious cyber actors can also take control of unsecured smart TVs and potentially wreak havoc on unsuspecting owners." - CNN
The Next-Gen devices we use today - whether computers, phones, or TV's are all equipped with internet connections, run complex software, and require having integrated sensors within them, with the most popular being microphones. The advantages of these features include utilizing voice commands and enabling streaming services such as Netflix, but the disadvantage intrudes when hackers compromise devices, subverting these same features.
"At the low end of the risk spectrum, they can change channels, play with the volume, and show your kids inappropriate videos," the FBI warning states. "In a worst-case scenario, they can turn on your bedroom TV's camera and microphone and silently cyberstalk you." - CNN
Here's some tips the FBI suggests we follow, some of which I've mentioned before:
1. Educate yourselves on the device's security settings. This information is available on Google and can help you to change the default settings such as passwords that were set by manufacturers. You'll also be able to learn how to enable/disable microphones and cameras.
2. If the device doesn't allow you to turn off the camera, placing black tape over the camera is one basic solution to keep prying eyes out.
3. Of course, it is extremely important to update your devices as soon as a new version is released or available.
If you have loved ones such as parents or grandparents who are unfamiliar with the new technology and how it operates, educate them and assist them on how to use it. Advocate to them the importance of disabling microphones, turning off cameras, and even disabling location services on devices. This can help them to protect their privacy and also make them feel good knowing more about technology as it becomes more complicated.
If you would like to discuss further, please leave a comment or ask a question. I'd love to chat with my readers and hear your thoughts. Thank you for dropping in and remember ToBeSecured! Also, my social media handles are located in the footer of this page or any page you visit on my website.
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