The acting head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the agency was assessing the cyber risk of smart TVs sold by the Chinese electronics giant TCL, following reports last month in The Security Ledger and elsewhere that the devices may give the company “back door” access to deployed sets.
Speaking at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said that DHS is “reviewing entities such as the Chinese manufacturer TCL.”
“This year it was discovered that TCL incorporated backdoors into all of its TV sets exposing users to cyber breaches and data exfiltration. TCL also receives CCP state support to compete in the global electronics market, which has propelled it to the third largest television manufacturer in the world,” Wolf said, according to a version of prepared remarks published by DHS. His talk was entitled “Homeland Security and the China Challenge.”
Our LG 42" TV recently went on the blink - the backlight packed up, but otherwise was working fine. LG wanted £329 to repair a 6 year old telly! I have today just ordered a replacement from the brilliant Richer Sounds for - wait for it - the same £329, with a 6 year warranty!
Caveat emptor: Smart TVs connect to your network. In IT there is a saying, "if you have physical access to something, you own it". Now imagine a dodgy Chinese TV sitting attached to your network - what could possibly go wrong?... With any IT device - you are always best off sticking to reputable vendors than some cheap "Harry Nibble" brand.
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