Smart TV’s face threat from radio attacks

The Smart TV is the latest target of hackers.

After desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones, smart TVs have become the latest gadgets vulnerable to threats. Smart TVs can be used to bury malicious code in signals which are sent to the devices and are even able to attack other devices at home.

Tech researchers have discovered a loophole in the technology used in the advanced sets which allows hackers to hijack the TV signals in a straight forward way.

They do not leave any trace of their handiwork, making users utterly ignorant of any sort of mishap. Here the attackers are able to exploit the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband standard which is supported by all the TV sets sold across Europe.

The technology helps the advertisers to perform better by sending users tailored advertisements to their Smart TV sets. Yossef Oren from the network of security labs at Colombia University said, “For this attack you do not need an Internet address, you do not need a server”. Oren added that the attacker just needs an antenna and a roof, and once the user is done with the attack no traces are left.

Another concern the researchers have expressed is that the attackers can also use the devices to display messages which demand credit card numbers and information of users.

Photo Credits: Daily Mail