Hackers Can Use Drones to Breach Smart TVs

At the Defcon conference, researcher Pedro Cabrera demonstrated just how vulnerable modern Smart TVs using the internet-connected HbbTV standard are to hacking. According to Wired, hackers can force TVs to display any video, show phishing messages asking for user passwords, install keyloggers, and even run cryptomining software.

Cabrera showed how a DJI quadcopter equipped with a software-defined radio could transmit a stronger signal and override legitimate television network signals. The range of such an attack depends only on the frequency and the power of the signal amplifier.

In another scenario, the researcher was able to manipulate the HbbTV standard, which allows TVs to connect to the internet. Using the same radio signal, Cabrera tricked Smart TVs into connecting to a web server URL he specified. According to Cabrera, this vulnerability does not affect the ATSC standard used in the United States, as it does not send or retrieve data from URLs.

This vulnerability can also be exploited by hackers to conduct phishing attacks. The researcher suspects this method could be even more effective than similar scams carried out via email.