Samsung today issued a statement saying it’s investigating reports that the Central Intelligence Agency has developed a code that enables it to listen to conversations held by owners of the company’s Smart TVs.
Wikileaks yesterday published secret documents that the organization claims show the CIA can listen to your conversations though your Samsung Smart TV as well as smart phones and computers
The government privacy watchdog says the documents reveal the code can set the Samsung TV in a “fake-off” mode so its owner will believe the set has been turned off. In reality, though, says Wikileaks, the ‘fake-off’ mode actually operates as a recording mechanism.
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“Protecting consumers’ privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung. We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter,” Samsung said in a statement.
Wikileaks does not explain how it obtained the documents, nor from where they originated. USA Today adds that it can not confirm whether they are legitimate.
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But Wikileaks, which was founded by government secrecy foe Julian Assange, has previously released numerous other secret documents which have proven to be authentic.
It’s unknown if the CIA has actually used a code to listen to and record the conversations of Samsung TV owners.
The Wikileaks disclosure is another headache for Samsung which previously was alleged to include a recording mechanism in its sets. There have also been charges that the camera on the Samsung Smart TV can be hacked, allowing an intruder to spy on your activities.
Apple has responded that it’s confident any security breaches have already been fixed for its iPhone.
“While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities,” Apple said in a statement.
— Phillip Swann
