Image: Thibault Penin
Samsung says that it can disable any of its Samsung TV sets remotely using TV Block, a feature built into all television products sold worldwide.
This was revealed by the South Korean multinational in a press release issued earlier this month in response to the July South African riots that led to large-scale looting, which also impacted Samsung warehouses and stores.
"TV Block is a remote, security solution that detects if Samsung TV units have been unduly activated, and ensures that the television sets can only be used by the rightful owners with a valid proof of purchase," Samsung said.
"The aim of the technology is to mitigate against the creation of secondary markets linked to the sale of illegal goods, both in South Africa and beyond its borders. This technology is already pre-loaded on all Samsung TV products."
As Samsung explains, the goal behind remotely disabling stolen TV sets is to limit looting and "third party purchases," and ensuring that the TVs can only be used by "rightful owners with a valid proof of purchase."
How TV Block works
The TV Block function is activated remotely on all TV sets stolen from one of its warehouses or distributors by adding their serial numbers to a list on Samsung's servers.
After a stolen TV is connected to the Internet, the device will check the list of stolen devices on Samsung's servers, and it will automatically disable all television functions if it finds a match.
If Samsung TVs belonging to actual customers get blocked by mistake, full functionality can be restored within 48 hours after sending proof of purchase and a valid TV license to the Samsung retailer or the serv.manager@samsung.com email.
"In keeping with our values to leverage the power of technology to resolve societal challenges, we will continuously develop and expand strategic products in our consumer electronics division with defence-grade security, purpose-built, with innovative and intuitive business tools designed for a new world," Mike Van Lier, Samsung South Africa's Director of Consumer Electronics, said.
"This technology can have a positive impact at this time, and will also be of use to both the industry and customers in the future."
While Samsung says TV Block is an innovative function that can only have a positive impact, one must think about what would happen if malicious actors would breach the company's servers and gain access to the block list used to disable stolen TVs remotely.
Comments
Some-Other-Guy - 2 years ago
As Samsung explains, the goal behind remotely disabling stolen TV sets is to limit looting and "third party purchases," and ensuring that the TVs can only be used by "rightful owners with a valid proof of purchase."
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Will they go on the record and say that is the only reason for the TV block ?
Intel has had kill switch capability on their motherboards going back to at least 2004, but I doubt it was for stopping a secondary market
h_b_s - 2 years ago
From "think about the children" to "think about us poor capitalists". Stop buying "smart" products... Not that it'll do any good, 99% of everyone else will still buy and only complain when they find out the gotcha. By then it's too late.
doriel - 2 years ago
Its about users being brainwashed by marketers. Im not surprised that ability of Samsung. In fact, nearly ever SW has backdoor, about which users are not aware. Only fools are surprised by that.
h_b_s - 2 years ago
"Its about users being brainwashed by marketers. Im not surprised that ability of Samsung. In fact, nearly ever SW has backdoor, about which users are not aware. Only fools are surprised by that."
Calling tinfoil BS on the "nearly ever[y] SW has backdoor". First of all, you can't prove the statement. Secondly, you're doing the same thing you're accusing marketers of doing: using ridiculous statements to cover up or write off a real problem that CAN and SHOULD be fixed. If you really believe what you're saying, why are you using a computer at all??
This happens to be why FOSS exists, for those with the skill to do so to prove or disprove the existence of security problems and to learn from the author how he solved the problems he set out to tackle.
Some-Other-Guy - 2 years ago
"Samsung says that it can disable any of its Samsung TV sets remotely"
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Oh Really?
My Samsung smart TV has never connected to any network (EVER) due to security risks like this one, and it's software has never been activated for the same reason
It has only ever been connected to an external computer for Internet use
f4nd4ng0 - 2 years ago
"My Samsung smart TV has never connected to any network (EVER) " -> "It has only ever been connected to an external computer for Internet use"... You should read the definition of a network, buddy.
Some-Other-Guy - 2 years ago
What we have here........is a failure to comuneecate
Let me clarify.......
The TV is not connected directly to any network or the Internet
The external computer is connected to the Internet, and the TV is just a monitor
mynameisgod - 2 years ago
You may have gotten away with that strategy in the past, and so have I, but you won't any more. Buy a DJI drone. It demands you have an internet connection to register an account in China. Refuse? It won't fly. PERIOD. There are very few options left to free people.
crownkingcharles - 2 years ago
This is great, but I recently lost all my paperwork in an incident beyond my control and now I have no proof of purchase for a TV I legally bought.
What about if I buy a TV from a friend? I now need to make him give me a receipt? What about if I just fake a receipt?!
This is so messed up.
CJatWork - 2 years ago
"...what would happen if malicious actors would breach the company's servers and gain access to the block list used to disable stolen TVs remotely."
I feel I should be registering and squatting on unblockmysamsungtv.com, heh-heh.
crownkingcharles - 2 years ago
""...what would happen if malicious actors would breach the company's servers and gain access to the block list used to disable stolen TVs remotely."
I feel I should be registering and squatting on unblockmysamsungtv.com, heh-heh."
It would be a great hack. What % of TVs in the world could you cause to go black? And do you even need to breach the company's servers? There are ways you could emulate their servers perhaps through a DNS attack. I wonder if there is any crytographic security to this process?
oddballlw - 2 years ago
You realize, by releasing this, Samsung is inviting the world's hacking community to attempt to breach their systems and copy the entire database of known serial numbers into the database of disabled serial numbers...
mynameisgod - 2 years ago
OK, this one made me laugh out loud. They actually have the balls to announce that this is "to prevent theft". Is there even ONE person on the planet who believes that?
First Mozilla announced their web browser will censor that you can look at on the web, and now Samsung TV's can block you from seeing what you want on TV.
Step 3, PROFIT!
agony - 2 years ago
What could possibly go wrong?