LG has denied that its televisions eavesdrop on customers, after a gaming site published a video appearing to show that the sets could be used to listen to conversations in real time.
“The claims made in the recently published video are not true,” an LG representative said in a statement. The company said its LG TVs process voice data only when the voice button on the remote control is pressed and held, or when the television’s “wake word” is spoken by the customer.
“Other than these instances, the TVs do not collect or record ambient conversations,” the statement said. LG added that if the device does not recognise the wake word, no voice data is transmitted to the server, and that the wake word is detected locally and immediately deleted.
What the researchers claim
A gaming site reported earlier this week that LG televisions can be hacked by a third party to become listening devices, even if a user disables the onboard microphone. The researchers said they used a man-in-the-middle attack on an LG G5 OLED television to enable it to listen to audio from a remote computer, and that the set was able to record audio without being connected to the internet. In such an attack, the hacker intercepts sensitive data by placing itself between two other entities, such as a user and a web application.
The two-hour video says hackers could listen to a USB webcam or an HDMI input even when the physical switch located next to the microphone was switched off. It claimed this alleged vulnerability was possible due to the television’s Automatic Content Recognition feature, which transmits viewing habits and voice requests back to LG.
The video says the researchers retrieved plain-text transcripts of a voice conversation and inputs from the television. It also reports that they were able to see a list of the IP addresses of all other devices on the network, even if those devices were not connected to the television.
LG’s response and wider context
“LG TVs feature the ability to scan for and connect to nearby devices on the same network. This is a standard function commonly provided by smart TVs and smart home devices,” an LG statement said. The microphone, like many smart devices, is designed to listen for a wake word or phrase such as “Hi TV” and then perform the requested task.
Apple says its “always listening” Audio Intelligence feature does not let the company access users’ raw audio. Almost all televisions and streaming devices use automatic content recognition to target ads based on viewing habits, though users can usually disable this in the device’s settings.
Any smart speaker will record audio for a limited time after hearing its wake word, and anything disclosed during that period may be recorded and transmitted. Smart-home attacks are rare, but the researchers recommend removing LG televisions from your network to prevent unauthorised data collection.
