From your fridge to your smart phone, we reveal which gadgets could be double agents
TELEVISIONS have been turned into living-room spies by MI5 and the CIA – and they’re not the only gadgets which are keeping tabs on us.
Many homes are packed with devices capable of gathering data on our tastes, movements – and conversations.
The Sun reported how Samsung smart TVs had allegedly been hacked by the intelligence agencies so their built-in microphones could be used to monitor suspects.
Secret CIA documents released by Wikileaks claim the tellies were targeted by a virus developed by UK and US spooks which gave them control over the TVs’ voice recognition system.
The built-in microphone could then be used to record goings-on in the viewers’ home, with conversations fed back to the CIA, it was claimed.
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It even worked when viewers believed they had switched the sets off.
But nearly every bit of hot new tech is already capable of spying on us, usually without any need for hacking.
Here we reveal which of your favourite gizmos could be double agents.
1. Baby cam monitors
THESE devices beam footage of sleeping children to a monitor or phone via the web and may have sinister potential for hackers.
Last year some parents reported entering kids’ rooms and hearing men’s voices speaking through the gadget.
US authorities warned that people may be hacking into them to watch and talk to kids alone in their rooms.
2. Smart lightbulbs
BULBS designed by Bell and Wyson conceal a camera connected to a smartphone app, allowing homeowners to spot intruders
However, because these images are sent via the net, they are vulnerable to hackers.
Meanwhile, last year a person who rented out a room via Airbnb claimed to have used similar hidden cameras to film guests.
3. Smart fridges
SAMSUNG has some people worried about their latest smart fridge, the Family Hub.
It has wifi and three inbuilt cameras. A photo is taken each time the fridge door closes, which it is then sent to the owner’s phone.
The idea is for the user to know what they have run out of – but that’s an awful lot of data that others may be keen to get their hands on.
4. Smart meters
DATA gathered on energy or water usage is so detailed that one meter has even been used as evidence in an ongoing US murder case.
Arkansas man James Bates said he was asleep at a time when his smart meter data showed a large amount of water being used in his home.
Cops allege that it was being used by Bates to clean up after killing a friend.
5. Amazon Echo
OBEYS voice commands to do anything from streaming music to turning on lights – and may also record other things going on.
This is why it, like the smart meter, is being used as a “witness” in the murder trial of US man James Bates.
He had an Echo and the device may have recorded what went on the night he is accused of killing a friend.
6. Xboxes
THE worrying bit is the inbuilt microphone, which players use to tell the console what they want to do instead of using controls.
In its privacy policy owner Microsoft admits it “captures” your commands “along with any ambient background noise” and states it may share this data with “affiliates and vendors”.
Xbox servers have been hacked in the past.
7. Smart phones
FROM in-built apps which use GPS to pinpoint our exact movements to services which note the precise location where pictures were snapped, our phones know it all.
They also often automatically save what we have been up to and this storage is not always secure. Hence the recent infamous iCloud hacks of celebrities’ naked photos.
8. Smart TVs
SAMSUNG smart sets hit headlines yesterday because of the data that can be gathered by their voice command feature.
A built-in mic is designed to let you tell your TV what you want to watch, but it can record everything else going on in the room too.
And it is now common in most internet-connected tellies, not just Samsungs.
9. Amazon Fire TV sticks
THESE plug into your TV so you can watch Netflix and other web streaming services.
Their voice-command feature records your voice, and the firm warns recordings “may be stored on servers outside the country in which you live.”
It adds third parties “have access to personal information”. Experts fear they could be an ideal way to monitor your conversations.
10. Webcams
HACKERS can gain control of inbuilt computer cameras and then sell images to voyeur websites or use them for blackmail.
All it takes is a victim to click on a dodgy email link and files are then downloaded, giving criminals remote control.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg covers the webcam on his own laptop with a bit of tape.
11. Car black boxes
GPS systems can send data about motorists’ movements back to the sat-nav company – and one firm has admitted to selling the info on to police.
In 2011 Dutch cops used data from TomTom about where drivers speed to figure out where to put speed cameras.
Meanwhile, more than 300,000 cars in the UK are now fitted with “black boxes” provided by insurance companies and these gather huge amounts of detail.
They record not just speed but distance travelled, the time of day or night you are on the road and even how well you brake and take corners.