Official Warning Issued About New Smart TVs and Spying

In case you picked one of these up on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or are planning on it, you might want to check out a new official warning released by the FBI.

By 'these' I mean Smart TVs.  You know, the new televisions that hook up to the internet and function digitally.  Turns out, they could be spying on you.  An FBI Field Office issued an official statement on this, and how you can protect yourself.  I also caught wind of this when CBS 6 Albany reported on it.

The thing is, Smart TVs hook up to the internet, and they have cameras and microphones.  This means they can not only be hacked, but they could also be spying on you.  Some of the risks include minor pranks of hacking like channel changing, or volume changing, up to playing inappropriate videos (in front of audiences like children, that could of course be really bad).  CBS 6 Albany also reported that the microphone and camera can be hacked into, for example, in your bedroom, causing some really scary cyber-stalking.

There are however some tips to protect yourself, which you can read about at the official FBI post.  I do have to admit, in a technological age, is this really a surprise?