Have you ever had a problem in which your satellite dish needs to be adjusted, or your cable connection goes out? I think we've all experienced one of these. However, most of us have not experienced any television problems beyond these. It has recently come out, though, that there may be more serious problems on the horizon. These problems have to do with malware actually being used on modern televisions.
Now, these attacks aren't actually happening much now, except maybe in extremely rare cases. These flaws are being caused by the increase of TVs that are networked in some way, either to the Internet or to a local network of TVs in the home.
These attacks were discovered and disclosed on Thursday, April 19th by Italian security researcher Luigi Auriemma, who is known for his work in finding security flaws in Microsoft Windows and in various video games. He discovered a flaw in his brother's Samsung D6000 TV, in which he was able to set the TV on an endless loop where the TV would constantly restart, even after unplugging and plugging it back in. The TV was completely unusable for three days. According to Auriemma, the attack could be potentially carried out over the Internet.
Another flaw in TV security came about two weeks earlier than Auriemma's discovery. This vulnerability affects Sony Bravia TVs. Through using the hping networking tool, the TV was rendered unusable, with the volume and channels not being able to be changed, and all other functionality prevented. After a short period of the time, the TV is remotely shut off, and must be turned on at the physical location of the TV.
Apparently, TV manufacturers who were informed of these issues have offered no response about possible solutions. Auriemma discussed the issue he discovered with Samsung's response team, and reported that they have little in the way of helpful advice to offer. Reports to support@samsung.com were also unsuccessful.
Another flaw in TV security came about two weeks earlier than Auriemma's discovery. This vulnerability affects Sony Bravia TVs. Through using the hping networking tool, the TV was rendered unusable, with the volume and channels not being able to be changed, and all other functionality prevented. After a short period of the time, the TV is remotely shut off, and must be turned on at the physical location of the TV.
Apparently, TV manufacturers who were informed of these issues have offered no response about possible solutions. Auriemma discussed the issue he discovered with Samsung's response team, and reported that they have little in the way of helpful advice to offer. Reports to support@samsung.com were also unsuccessful.
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