FLocker Mobile Ransomware Crosses to Smart TV | Hacker News Reader

FLocker Mobile Ransomware Crosses to Smart TV

blog.trendmicro.com

17 pointsbifrost12 comments

Smart tv = giving samsung, apple permission to listen to every word you say, and use those words to target martketing at you. There no no expectation or privacy around your smart tv. I mean their smart marketing device you buy pay for the privledge to use.

FYI: Smart TV typically refers to any television capable of connecting to the internet, not necessarily only to those with webcam, microphone, always-on functionality, etc.

A TV with no peripherals that only knows your wifi password and nothing else about you has many magnitudes less access to private information than your phone, computer, tablet, etc.

Some interesting monetization options around big sports events and other mass audience items.

Oh good lord, I hadn't even thought of that. Keep the ransomware sitting idle until 10 minutes before the Super Bowl - then turn it on asking for $1000 (or even less, if you've got it on enough TVs) to release the lock.

I turned off the "smart" features on my smart tv the moment they showed me an ad. (no fucking way I'm paying $2k for a TV to show me ads, I barely tolerate the occasional Hulu programming that they were unable to get an ad-free license for).

How do you turn off the "smart" features on most TVs? I am hoping I can still get a "dumb" panel the next time I need a new TV (which is hopefully never).

Many people on HN could set up bi-directional firewalls but what hope has the average person got?

Don't setup ethernet/wifi...

> I am hoping I can still get a "dumb" panel the next time I need a new TV (which is hopefully never).

Protip: when you go to buy one, don't go to consumer electronic retailers - if you find a commercial electronic wholesaler (e.g. one that sells equipment for businesses), you'll find heaps of dumb TVs that are basically giant computer monitors. Same panels, better warranty, and nothing in them except a panel and a bunch of input ports.

Businesses often use these in reception areas, operations rooms, etc.

What's the price difference?

Sad to think I'll have to pay a premium for the basic model...

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-RM48D-48-Inch-1080p-Signage/d...

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/177-4673061-841302...

Seems to be about $200 USD difference - and funnily enough the commercial version probably doesn't have HDMI-CEC.

Umm .. no. Typically, commercial TVs have features like volume/channel locking and magicinfo. These are extras.

I didn't see in the article, how does the TV become infected? I presume that users of "smart TVs" are mostly using built-in apps for Netflix, Hulu, etc; is there some existing vulnerability that allows this to connect to the TV over the network and exploit it? Or does it require the victim to access website from the TV's browser? (Do smart TVs have browsers?) Or install an app on the TV?

Yeah, that part was missing from the article. It looks like it phishes the user into installing the ransomeware app, but they have to download the app before that happens.

I'm assuming that a user would be browsing the web on their TV and some website has abused the schema for installing apps through the smartTV app store.

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