A new technical investigation into LG smart televisions has raised serious privacy and cybersecurity concerns after researchers demonstrated that compromised sets could record nearby conversations, retain captured audio while offline, and transmit the information once an internet connection was restored.
The research, conducted by Gamers Nexus in collaboration with Level1Techs and independent security specialists, examined retail LG OLED televisions, including the G5. Its findings suggest that the security implications of a compromised smart TV extend far beyond viewing-history collection: a vulnerable television could potentially become a persistent surveillance device and a foothold for attacks against other systems on the same network.
The investigation also examined LG’s built-in data-collection and advertising technologies. Researchers reported that the televisions performed extensive discovery of devices and wireless networks in their surroundings, gathering information that could help construct a detailed picture of a household’s digital environment.
However, an important distinction must be made between the television’s standard commercial features and the behavior researchers achieved after gaining elevated access to the device. The demonstration of continuous audio surveillance appears to have depended on exploiting security weaknesses or otherwise obtaining privileged control. It does not, by itself, prove that every LG television routinely records ambient conversations during ordinary use.
LG has previously said that its televisions do not collect, record or store ambient conversations and that voice recognition is an optional feature activated by the user. The…