tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/smart-tv-4658/articlesSmart TV – The Conversation2023-11-29T00:25:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2187912023-11-29T00:25:31Z2023-11-29T00:25:31ZThe government has announced plans to regulate smart TV home screens: what the new rules mean for you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562281/original/file-20231128-29-c33qpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C11%2C7315%2C4891&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has today introduced <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7132">legislation</a> that will require smart TV manufacturers to ensure we can easily find local broadcasters – including ABC, SBS and the commercial networks – when we turn on our TVs.</p>
<p>This “prominence” law will require TV manufacturers to preinstall iview, SBS On Demand, 9Now, 7Plus and 10Play on all smart TVs sold in Australia. It will also ensure these apps are not unfairly hidden in the user interface compared to major players like Netflix and Disney+.</p>
<p>This prominence law was recently the subject of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/brawl-erupts-over-which-apps-get-shown-first-on-your-smart-tv-20231106-p5ehuz.html">heated discussion</a> between the free-to-air networks, TV platforms, manufacturers and Foxtel – a pseudo-debate driven by industry scare campaigns.</p>
<p>But there is little reason for users to be alarmed.</p>
<p>The government’s proposed smart TV law is a light-touch change that will support our local content and public-service broadcasting ecosystem without compromising the user experience.</p>
<h2>Smart TVs need smart regulation</h2>
<p>Since 2019, our team at RMIT has been studying smart TVs as part of an Australian Research Council project. During this time we observed significant changes in the <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/154390/mtm-review-tv-user-interfaces-uk-market-full-report.pdf">smart TV marketplace</a> that point to the need for careful regulation.</p>
<p>Major TV manufacturers have reinvented themselves as advertising platforms. To generate ad revenue, they charge apps <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-and-other-streaming-giants-pay-to-get-branded-buttons-on-your-remote-control-local-tv-services-cant-afford-to-keep-up-203927">fees for prominence</a>: advertising dollars determine the order in which streaming apps appear when you turn on your smart TV.</p>
<p>Samsung, LG, Hisense and TCL have also launched their own <a href="https://www.mediaweek.com.au/why-australia-has-a-much-better-handle-on-fast-channels/">FAST (Free Advertiser Supported TV) channels</a>, which are actively promoted on the TV home screen.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-and-other-streaming-giants-pay-to-get-branded-buttons-on-your-remote-control-local-tv-services-cant-afford-to-keep-up-203927">Netflix and other streaming giants pay to get branded buttons on your remote control. Local TV services can’t afford to keep up</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One consequence of these commercial arrangements is reduced visibility of local apps and services. The <a href="https://www.ramonlobato.com/_files/ugd/4dcf19_e519c44d1fde4716ac717c898334a255.pdf">smart TV testing</a> we conducted at RMIT found local services are much less prominent and less frequently preinstalled than Netflix, Disney+ and other US-based services that do global prominence deals with manufacturers.</p>
<p>Why is this a problem? Our research found a third of Australian users do not know how to download smart TV apps. For these users, the smart TV is a preconfigured device: if local apps aren’t on the TV when it comes home from the store they will likely never be installed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A smart TV" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562280/original/file-20231128-15-b1702l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A third of users don’t know how to download new apps to their smart TV.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In other words, manufacturers rely on the inertia bias of users to opt for prominently positioned advertiser apps.</p>
<p>Within this environment, local streamers and other smaller players are structurally disadvantaged. In particular, our public-service broadcasters – who do not have the resources to pay for prominence in the attention economy of the smart TV interface – would face a dim future.</p>
<h2>How will the prominence law work?</h2>
<p>The key feature of the new law, which will take effect mid-2025, is a “must carry” requirement. While ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) will clarify the detail of the rules in coming months, the government’s intention is to require manufacturers of smart TVs and connected TV devices sold in Australia to preinstall the streaming apps of Australian free-to-air channels. </p>
<p>These apps need to have their own home screen shortcuts, which must be of equivalent size and format to those of other streaming services. This will prevent manufacturers trying to bury these shortcuts in favour of paying advertisers’ apps.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5991%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A smart TV" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5991%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562277/original/file-20231128-20-njo66j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Free-to-air Australian channels will need to have their own shortcuts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the order of tiles is left up to the manufacturer – and, importantly, users are free to delete or move the tiles as they wish. So ultimate control of the device still rests with the user.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ramonlobato.com/_files/ugd/4dcf19_e519c44d1fde4716ac717c898334a255.pdf">Our research</a> found a clear majority (around 59%) of Australian adults support compulsory preinstallation of broadcaster apps on new smart TVs. Only around 15% of users said they disagreed with compulsory preinstallation. The rest were neutral or unsure.</p>
<p>This suggests any user backlash against the proposed changes will be modest.</p>
<h2>What about TV search and recommendations?</h2>
<p>While the free-to-air broadcasters will be pleased with this outcome, they have not received everything they asked for.</p>
<p>The broadcast lobby <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/pfpp--free-tv-australia.pdf">pushed hard</a> for a must-promote rule, which would have placed their content first in the recommendations and search results.</p>
<p>The government has rejected this idea in favour of the more modest must-carry rule. The order of results in search and recommendations will be left up to the manufacturer, as is presently the case.</p>
<h2>The long view</h2>
<p>Some may argue any intervention in smart TVs is an overreach by government. But the reality is that almost every country regulates television for cultural, industry and security reasons. Many national regulators <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-95220-4_11">are considering</a> prominence <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/media-bill-to-maximise-potential-of-british-tv-and-radio">rules</a> similar to what has been introduced in Australia today.</p>
<p>Smart TVs – as the new distribution platform for television content – clearly need to be moved into the scope of regulation over the long term.</p>
<p>In doing this, government must balance the competing priorities of user autonomy, local industry needs, and existing market arrangements.</p>
<p>The proposed prominence is a step in the right direction – but only the first step in what will surely be a complex process of media reform.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-disney-and-netflixs-streaming-battle-isnt-winner-take-all-125360">Apple, Disney and Netflix's streaming battle isn't winner-take-all</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218791/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramon Lobato receives funding from the Australian Research Council (FT190100144).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexa Scarlata does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New legislation will require smart TV manufacturers to ensure we can easily find local broadcasters when we turn on our TVs.Ramon Lobato, Associate Professor, School of Media and Communication, RMIT UniversityAlexa Scarlata, Research Fellow, Media & Communications, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2039272023-04-26T05:54:21Z2023-04-26T05:54:21ZNetflix and other streaming giants pay to get branded buttons on your remote control. Local TV services can’t afford to keep up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522887/original/file-20230425-2378-f941va.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4240%2C2811&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve bought a new smart TV in the past few years, you’ll likely have a remote with pre-programmed app shortcuts, such as the now ubiquitous “Netflix button”. </p>
<p>These branded buttons offer one-click access to select apps. </p>
<p>The choice and design of shortcuts vary between brands. </p>
<p>Samsung remotes have a monochrome design with small buttons for Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and Samsung TV Plus. Hisense remotes are overflowing with 12 big, colourful buttons advertising everything from Stan and Kayo to NBA League Pass and Kidoodle. </p>
<p>The remote is now a thoroughly commercial space.</p>
<p>Behind these buttons there is a lucrative business model. Content providers purchase remote shortcut buttons as part of <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/154390/mtm-review-tv-user-interfaces-uk-market-full-report.pdf">negotiated deals</a> with manufacturers. </p>
<p>For streaming services, presence on the remote control provides branding opportunities and a convenient entry point into their app. For television manufacturers, it provides a new revenue stream.</p>
<p>But the TV user must tolerate unwanted advertising every time they pick up their remote. And smaller apps – including many Australian apps – are disadvantaged because they are typically priced out of the market.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=118&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=118&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=118&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=148&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=148&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522891/original/file-20230425-1193-5kisag.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=148&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shortcut buttons on Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense and TCL remotes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who’s on your remote?</h2>
<p><a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2023-02/apo-nid321605.pdf">Our research</a> examined remotes for 2022-model smart TVs from the five major television brands sold in Australia: Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense and TCL.</p>
<p>We found all major-brand TVs sold in Australia have dedicated buttons for Netflix and Prime Video. Most also have Disney+ and YouTube buttons. </p>
<p>However, local services are harder to find on remotes. A few brands have Stan and Kayo buttons, but only Hisense has an ABC iview button. None have buttons for SBS On Demand, 7Plus, 9Now or 10Play.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522894/original/file-20230426-20-38efal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2023-02/apo-nid321605.pdf">For full data see RMIT Smart TVs and Local Content Prominence report</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Remote shortcuts are part of a larger battle for brand visibility in smart TV interfaces.</p>
<p>Since 2019, regulators in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/competition-policy/document/download/c74fd54d-7cbb-41c5-aad5-0175be7b8a99_en">Europe</a> and the <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/epg-code-prominence-regime">United Kingdom</a> have been investigating the smart TV market. They have uncovered some questionable business arrangements between manufacturers, platforms and apps.</p>
<p>Following this lead, the Australian government is conducting its own investigations and developing <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/publications/prominence-framework-connected-tv-devices-proposals-paper">a new framework</a> to ensure local services can be easily found on smart TVs and streaming devices. </p>
<p>One proposal under consideration is a “must-carry” or “must-promote” framework that would require local apps to receive equal (or even special) treatment within the home screens of smart TVs. This option is enthusiastically supported by the broadcasters’ lobby group, Free TV Australia. </p>
<p>Free TV is <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/pfpp--free-tv-australia.pdf">also arguing</a> for a mandatory “Free TV” button on all remotes that would bring the user to a landing page with all of the local free-to-air video-on-demand apps: ABC iview, SBS On Demand, 7Plus, 9Now and 10Play. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/streaming-platforms-will-soon-be-required-to-invest-more-in-australian-tv-and-films-which-could-be-good-news-for-our-screen-sector-198757">Streaming platforms will soon be required to invest more in Australian TV and films, which could be good news for our screen sector</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>But what do we want on our remotes?</h2>
<p>We <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2023-02/apo-nid321605.pdf">asked</a> more than 1,000 Australian smart TV users which four shortcut buttons they would include if they could design their own remote control. We asked
them to select options from a long list of locally available apps, or write their own choices, up to four. </p>
<p>The clear favourite was Netflix (selected by 75% of respondents), followed by YouTube (56%), Disney+ (33%), ABC iview (28%), Prime Video (28%) and SBS On Demand (26%). </p>
<p>All other services were selected by fewer than a quarter of respondents.</p>
<p><iframe id="4sNbM" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4sNbM/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>SBS On Demand and ABC iview are the only services in the top-ranked apps list not to routinely receive their own remote control buttons. So, based on what we found, there’s a solid policy rationale for mandating some kind of presence on our remotes for public-service broadcasters.</p>
<p>But it is also clear no-one wants their Netflix button messed with. So government needs to tread carefully to ensure user preferences are respected in any future regulation of smart TVs and remotes.</p>
<p>In our survey respondents also raised an interesting question: why can’t we choose our own remote control shortcuts?</p>
<p>While some manufacturers (notably LG) allow limited customisation of their remotes, the general trend in remote control design has been towards increased branding and monetisation of positioning. It is unlikely this will be reversed anytime soon.</p>
<p>In other words, your remote is now part of the global <a href="https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/mij/article/id/1338/">streaming wars</a> – and will remain so for the foreseeable future.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-australian-streaming-survive-a-fresh-onslaught-from-overseas-101311">Can Australian streaming survive a fresh onslaught from overseas?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203927/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramon Lobato receives funding from the Australian Research Council (FT190100978).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexa Scarlata receives funding from the Australian Research Council (FT190100978).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruno Schivinski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A battle is looming between broadcasters, streamers and manufacturers for control over our TV remote controls.Ramon Lobato, Associate Professor, School of Media and Communication, RMIT UniversityAlexa Scarlata, Researcher, Media & Communications, RMIT UniversityBruno Schivinski, Senior Lecturer - Advertising, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1789732022-12-05T13:28:04Z2022-12-05T13:28:04ZHow does a television set work?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471483/original/file-20220628-14509-wm9mhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C6205%2C4168&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The TV in your home is very different from the television sets of just a few years ago.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/boy-watching-television-royalty-free-image/77748497">moodboard/Image Source via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How does a TV work? – Caden, age 11</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Look at your modern-day TV, and you see nothing less than a technological miracle. </p>
<p>Scientists began experimenting with the concept of television <a href="https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-television/#">more than a century ago</a>. But decades would pass before the Radio Corporation of America <a href="https://www.rca.com/us_en/our-legacy-266-us-en">brought it to the public</a> at the 1939 World’s Fair. More time passed before TV sets were in stores – and even then, it took awhile <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/television-in-the-United-States/The-late-Golden-Age">until most people had one</a>. In 1950, fewer than 10% of Americans owned a television. By 1959, that number had grown to 85%. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black-and-white photograph of a mother and her two children watching television in the living room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471490/original/file-20220628-14181-80kt8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the 1950s, television sets were bulky and the picture was in black and white.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-and-children-watching-television-royalty-free-image/81774789?adppopup=true">H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile RF via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the ‘50s, TVs were expensive, screens were small and the picture wasn’t always crystal clear. </p>
<p>What’s more, early TV programs <a href="https://clickamericana.com/topics/science-technology/vintage-television-sets-from-the-1950s">were in black and white</a>; color wasn’t in wide use until the mid-1960s. </p>
<p>Viewers didn’t have a lot of choice, either. Instead of hundreds of channels to choose from, most cities offered only three or four. </p>
<p>And DVR didn’t exist. Programs appeared on a specific day at a particular time, and if you missed it – you missed it. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.uml.edu/engineering/electrical-computer/faculty/weitzen-jay.aspx">As a professor</a> of electrical and computer engineering, I am amazed by the remarkable advances of this technology in only a few decades. </p>
<p>Yet whether an early television with a 5-inch screen, or one of today’s smart TVs <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/samsung-tv-the-wall-biggest-screen-weve-ever-seen/">that practically cover the wall</a>, your set still has three primary functions: to receive audio and video data; to use that data to present the viewer with sound and a picture; and to provide the viewer with a way to set the channel and the volume. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Against a blue sky and white clouds, a TV antenna sits on top of a house." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472411/original/file-20220704-26-oton67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A rooftop antenna receives the TV signal sent by the local television station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/residential-tv-antenna-point-into-beautiful-blue-royalty-free-image/1128664587?adppopup=true">Tim Allen/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Radio waves, transmission towers and antennas</h2>
<p>Early TVs worked with <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Analog_television">the use of “analog signals”</a> – essentially radio waves containing both the picture and sound of a television program.</p>
<p>Simply put, here’s how it worked: Using a giant transmission tower, the local television station repeatedly sent those radio waves through the air during the broadcast day. Antennas on the roofs of buildings and homes in the community <a href="https://itstillworks.com/outdoor-tv-antenna-work-4795028.html">intercepted those waves</a> and, through a cable, transported the signal to the television sets inside. </p>
<p>There, the TV unscrambled the signal and turned it into a picture with sound. What you saw and heard wasn’t as sharp as today’s TVs, but it was good. </p>
<p>By 2009, TV stations replaced analog signals with digital TV signals, <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/television/353844#:%7E:">which is the standard used today</a>. HDTV, or high-definition television, has an amazing picture quality compared to earlier TVs. Digital signals are still transmitted using radio waves, but the TV picture is <a href="https://innovationkidslab.com/birthday-binary-code-kids/#:%7E:">encoded in binary</a> – that is, a series of 0s and 1s. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="On a black background, the blue numbers '1' and '2' illustrate the binary code." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472636/original/file-20220705-14543-5300vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration of binary code, which is the way digital signals are transmitted to your television.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/binary-code-background-royalty-free-image/1317329445">fotograzia/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Bits, bytes and frames</h2>
<p>Modern digital TV uses different information streams. For example, one stream is for the picture; another stream is for the audio.</p>
<p>Pictures are created by <a href="https://nsufl.libguides.com/virtual-stem/pixels#:%7E:">basic units called pixels</a>. Your TV screen has tens of thousands of pixels, and each one has a “color index” and an “intensity.” Basically, three colors – red, blue and green – form other colors in various combinations, and the picture is ultimately created from all the pixels together forming an image. Just like mixing paint to make any color you wish, varying the amount and intensity of each of the color pixels creates the desired image.</p>
<p>Groups of bits are formed <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Byte#:%7E:">into larger units called bytes</a>. They are the communication link between the content you are watching and your TV. <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Modem#:%7E:">A modem</a> packages and unpackages this information; at its heart, every TV or cellphone is based on a modem. </p>
<p>The packaged information can be transmitted over the air or sent via fiber or cable, where they come into your TV via a cable box. Streaming TV, a service that has become very popular, <a href="https://techjury.net/blog/what-is-streaming-tv/#gref">takes data from a computer network</a>.</p>
<p>Then it’s up to you, the viewer. Your modern digital smart TV has an interface that allows you to control all the functions. Basically, a smart TV is a computer, large monitor and receiver all in one package. </p>
<p>In the future, there will be more merging of the functions of your cellphone and TV. The TV will be a screen for your cellphone, for example. Also expect more <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Virtual_reality">virtual reality, augmented reality</a> and <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/4K_resolution">ultra-high definition TV</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BnmLC0QXugI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">“Watch Mr. Wizard,” one of early television’s most popular programs for kids. This episode aired in 1962.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay Weitzen receives funding from. DoD, NSF, Commscope, Airvana</span></em></p>Pictures and sound, flying through the air to a box in your house? Back in the 1940s, it seemed like a miracle.Jay Weitzen, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UMass LowellLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/743372017-03-09T18:32:42Z2017-03-09T18:32:42ZCIA hacking Q&A: can your TV spy on you and is your phone listening in?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160198/original/image-20170309-21056-1jzu87c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/world/europe/wikileaks-cia-hacking.html">WikiLeaks has released</a> <a href="https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/">thousands of documents</a> that appear to show how the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is able to spy on smartphones, computers and other internet-connected devices. They apparently have the ability to break into any Android and iPhone smartphone, as well as devices running Windows, Mac OS or Linux operating systems. Though the leak doesn’t tell us how widely these techniques are used, it does highlight just how vulnerable the technology on which we increasingly rely is to security breaches.</p>
<h2>How can the CIA hack these devices?</h2>
<p>The leaked documents suggest the CIA has a catalogue of <a href="http://www.pctools.com/security-news/zero-day-vulnerability/">“zero-day” vulnerabilities</a>. A software vulnerability is typically a flaw in a program that a hacker can use to undermine the security of a system and break in to control it or steal its data. Usually, vulnerabilities are reported to vendors so they can produce a software patch that will fix the flaw and to eliminate or reduce the chances of a successful attack. Those flaws that the software manufacturer doesn’t know about are called zero-day vulnerabilities (referring to the number of days the manufacturer has known about the problem).</p>
<p>By exploiting these zero-day vulnerabilities, the CIA could theoretically undermine the controls of computer operating systems and smartphones. This would allow it to bypass, for example, the security of many messaging apps that are considered secure, such as WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal. It doesn’t show that these apps have had their strong encryption methods broken – instead the messages can be read directly from the operating system before being encrypted.</p>
<h2>What can the CIA do with these techniques?</h2>
<p>The leaked documents also detail a highly technical catalogue of hacking tools, such as instructions for compromising Skype, Wi-Fi networks, PDF documents and commercial anti-virus programs. There are also instructions on how to steal passwords, such as those inputted into internet browsers. For example, a technique called “QuarkMatter” can insert stealthy spying software on an Apple computer by hiding it in the EFI system partition, the part of the hard drive where the startup files are kept.</p>
<p>The documents also report that the CIA might be able to listen to conversations heard by the microphones in smart TVs even when the TVs appear to be switched off. But that doesn’t mean the CIA can exploit anyone’s smart TV. The program, called “Weeping Angel”, was designed specifically for the Samsung F8000 TV. And it is entirely possible that the CIA created this technique (and others like it) just to target specific individuals. It also seems that the program can only be loaded onto a television via a software update from a USB device. So someone would have to enter your house and access your TV to be able to hack it.</p>
<p>But we should also note that other “Internet of Things” connected devices could be used for similar purposes, such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/amazon-echo-will-bring-genuinely-helpful-ai-into-our-homes-much-sooner-than-expected-65495">Amazon Echo</a> home assistant. The CIA has, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/03/08/what-we-know-about-car-hacking-the-cia-and-those-wikileaks-claims/?utm_term=.539046e94eec">it is claimed</a>, even explored ways of remotely controlling and hacking into cars in order to crash them, creating a “nearly undetectable assassination”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160200/original/image-20170309-21047-1bswd1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160200/original/image-20170309-21047-1bswd1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160200/original/image-20170309-21047-1bswd1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160200/original/image-20170309-21047-1bswd1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160200/original/image-20170309-21047-1bswd1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160200/original/image-20170309-21047-1bswd1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160200/original/image-20170309-21047-1bswd1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Watching what you’re doing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How serious is the issue?</h2>
<p>Many commenters have noted that some of the vulnerabilities that are shown in the catalogue are old and some of them have <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/apple-says-many-of-the-cias-alleged-iphone-hacks-have-already-been-patched">already been patched</a> up. For example, the Samsung TV hack is not possible anymore in recent devices with updated firmware. But that doesn’t mean that the CIA (or any other intelligence agency) hasn’t updated its arsenal to exploit newer vulnerabilities.</p>
<p>The document suggests the CIA is willing to exploit public technology for spying and put it at further risk of hacking. If manufacturers don’t know about vulnerabilities then they can’t fix them and so they are also available for malicious hackers or other governments to exploit as well.</p>
<p>The US government has established the <a href="https://epic.org/privacy/cybersecurity/vep/">Vulnerabilities Equities Process</a> (VEP) as a way of helping its agencies deciding whether or not to disclose or not a vulnerability. If the CIA is stockpiling a catalogue of vulnerabilities it discovers, as other agencies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/06/nsa-zero-days-stockpile-security-vulnerability-defcon">have previously denied doing</a>, then it may be ignoring this protocol. There are exceptions, such as if the exploit has “a clear national security or law enforcement need”. But as we don’t know how the vulnerabilities have been exploited, it isn’t clear if they fall into this category.</p>
<p>It’s also not clear what other hacking activities the CIA may be undertaking. The leak includes 8,761 documents and files, many of which haven’t yet been analysed, and there are likely more documents to come. Some documents have been redacted by WikiLeaks editors to avoid disclosing the actual programming code for the attacks, to make it difficult to copy them. </p>
<p>Finally, it appears that the entire archive of disclosed CIA toolkit consists of several hundred million lines of code (by comparison, Windows 7 is composed of 25m lines of code). So it might take some time to fully understand the extent of their hacking capabilities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniele Sgandurra does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The latest WikiLeaks revelation shows how far the CIA can take its cyber attacks.Daniele Sgandurra, Lecturer in Information Security, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/742262017-03-09T04:19:45Z2017-03-09T04:19:45ZThe WikiLeaks CIA release: When will we learn?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160100/original/image-20170309-21018-1gx6ex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The world is searching – will we protect ourselves?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/wikileaks-document-leaked-secret-confidential-digital-550243126">Graphic via shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week’s WikiLeaks release of what is apparently a <a href="https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/">trove of Central Intelligence Agency information related to its computer hacking</a> should surprise no one: Despite its complaints of being targeted by cyberattackers from other countries, the U.S. does a fair amount of its own hacking. Multiple federal agencies are involved, including the CIA and the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/29/top-secret-snowden-document-reveals-what-the-nsa-knew-about-previous-russian-hacking/">National Security Agency</a>, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/02/history-of-5-eyes-explainer">even friendly nations</a>. These latest disclosures also remind us of the cybersecurity truism that any electronic device connected to a network can be hacked. </p>
<p>As cybersecurity researchers conducting a preliminary review of the data released in what WikiLeaks calls “Vault 7,” we find the documents mostly confirm existing knowledge about how common hacking is and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/wikileaks-publishes-what-it-says-is-trove-of-cia-hacking-tools/">how many potential targets</a> there are in the world. </p>
<p>This round of leaks, of documents dating from 2013 to 2016, also reinforces perhaps the most troubling piece of information we already knew: Individuals and the government itself must step up cyberdefense efforts to protect sensitive information.</p>
<h2>Almost everything is hackable</h2>
<p>For years, security experts and researchers have warned that if something is connected to the internet it is <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/227576/everything_is_hackable_and_cyber_criminals_cant_be_tracked.html">vulnerable to attack</a>. And spies around the world <a href="http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2013/cyber/timeline/EN/index.htm">routinely gather intelligence electronically</a> for diplomatic, economic and national security purposes.</p>
<p>As a result, we and <a href="https://law.vanderbilt.edu/news/snowden-revelations-not-surprising-to-those-following-expansion-of-government-surveillance-programs-according-to-christopher-slobogin/">others in the cybersecurity community</a> were not surprised by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/the-nsa-files">2013 revelations from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden</a>. We knew that the spying programs he disclosed were possible if not likely. By contrast, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/snowden-a-picture-of-the-cybersecurity-state-65310">general public and many politicians were astounded</a> and worried by the Snowden documents, just as many citizens are surprised by this week’s WikiLeaks disclosure.</p>
<p>One element of the new WikiLeaks “Vault 7” release provides more insight into the scope of government spying. In a project called “<a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/weeping-angel-hack-samsung-smart-tv-cia-wikileaks/">Weeping Angel</a>,” CIA hackers and their U.K. counterparts worked to turn <a href="https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/cms/page_12353643.html">Samsung F8000 smart television sets into remote surveillance tools</a>. Hacked TV’s could record what their owners said nearby, even when they appeared to be turned off.</p>
<p>The fact that the CIA specifically targeted smart televisions should serve as yet another a wake-up call to the general public and technology manufacturers about <a href="http://www.snopes.com/2016/02/12/samsung-smart-tvs-spying/">cybersecurity issues inherent in modern devices</a>. Specifically, “<a href="https://theconversation.com/security-risks-in-the-age-of-smart-homes-58756">smart home</a>” and <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-the-year-2020-hows-your-cybersecurity-57868">Internet of Things devices</a> represent a massive vulnerability. They are open to attack not only by government organizations seeking intelligence on national security information, but terrorists, criminals or other adversaries.</p>
<p>It’s not necessarily a good idea to have always-on and network-enabled microphones or cameras in every room of the house. Despite many of these devices being sold with <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/01/theres-no-good-way-to-patch-the-internet-of-things-and-thats-a-huge-problem/">insecure default settings</a>, the market is <a href="https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/state-of-the-internet-of-things-market-report-2016.pdf">growing very rapidly</a>. More and more people are buying <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/3128791/data-privacy/how-google-homes-always-on-will-affect-privacy.html">Google Home</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/21/amazon-echo-alexa-home-robot-privacy-cloud">Amazon Echo</a> devices, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/baby-monitors-connect-internet-vulnerable-hackers-cybersecurity/">Wi-Fi enabled baby monitors</a> and even <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2498510,00.asp">internet-connected home-security equipment</a>.</p>
<p>These have already caused problems for families whose <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/7/14200210/amazon-alexa-tech-news-anchor-order-dollhouse">devices overheard a TV newscaster and ordered dollhouses</a> or whose <a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/02/creepy-iot-teddy-bear-leaks-2-million-parents-and-kids-voice-messages/">kids were tracked by a teddy bear</a>. And large parts of the internet were disrupted when many “smart” devices were <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/11/akamai-on-the-record-krebsonsecurity-attack/">hijacked and used to attack other networked systems</a>.</p>
<h2>Phones were a key target</h2>
<p>The CIA also explored ways to take control of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/03/07/the-cia-didnt-break-signal-or-whatsapp-despite-what-youve-heard/">smartphone operating systems</a>, allowing the agency to monitor everything a phone’s user did, said or typed on the device. Doing so would provide a way around <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/06/22/battle-of-the-secure-messaging-apps-how-signal-beats-whatsapp/">post-Snowden encrypted communications apps</a> like WhatsApp and Signal. However, some of the CIA’s methods of attack have <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/08/apple-ios-wikileaks-cia-exploits/">already been blocked</a> by technology vendors’ security updates.</p>
<p>The CIA’s apparent ability to hack smartphones casts doubt on the need for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/us/politics/fbi-director-repeats-call-that-ability-to-read-encrypted-messages-is-crucial.html">officials’ repeated calls</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-fbi-versus-apple-government-strengthened-techs-hand-on-privacy-55353">weaken mobile phone encryption features</a>. It also weakens the <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140413/07094726892/obama-tells-nsa-to-reveal-not-exploit-flaws-except-all-times-it-wants-to-do-opposite.shtml">government’s claim</a> that it must strengthen surveillance by <a href="https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/cms/page_13205587.html">not telling tech companies when it learns of security weaknesses</a> in everyday products. Just like the door to your house, technological vulnerabilities work equally well in providing access to both “good guys” and “bad guys.”</p>
<p>Ultimately, as a society, we must continue to debate the trade-offs between the conveniences of modern technologies and security/privacy. There are definite benefits and conveniences from pervasive and wearable computing, smart cars and televisions, internet-enabled refrigerators and thermostats, and the like. But there are very real security and privacy concerns associated with installing and using them in our personal environments and private spaces. Additional problems can come from how our governments address these issues while respecting popular opinion and acknowledging the capabilities of modern technology.</p>
<p>As citizens, we must decide what level of risk we – as a nation, a society and as individuals – are willing to face when using internet-connected products.</p>
<h2>We’re frequent attackers – but bad defenders</h2>
<p>The WikiLeaks release also reconfirms a reality the U.S. might prefer to keep quiet: While the government objects to others’ offensive cyberattacks against the United States, we launch them too. This isn’t news, but it hurts America’s reputation as a fair and aboveboard player on the international stage. It also also reduces American officials’ credibility when they object to other countries’ electronic activities. </p>
<p>Leaks like this reveal America’s methods to the world, providing plenty of direction for adversaries who want to replicate what government agents do – or even potentially launch attacks that appear to come from American agencies to conceal their own involvement or deflect attribution.</p>
<p>But perhaps the most disturbing message the WikiLeaks disclosure represents is in the leak itself: It’s another high-profile, high-volume breach of information from a major U.S. government agency – and at least the third significant one from the secretive intelligence community. </p>
<p>Perhaps the largest U.S. government data loss incident was the 2014 <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/10/inside-cyberattack-shocked-us-government/">Office of Personnel Management breach</a> that affected <a href="https://www.opm.gov/cybersecurity/cybersecurity-incidents/">more than 20 million current and former federal workers</a> and their families (including this article’s authors). But the U.S. has never truly secured its digital data against cyberattackers. In the 1990s there was <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/russia-cyber-war-fred-kaplan-book-213746">Moonlight Maze</a>; in the 2000s there was <a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/12/titan_rain_1.html">Titan Rain</a>. And that’s just for starters.</p>
<p>Our government needs to focus more on the mundane tasks of cyberdefense. Keeping others out of key systems is crucial to American national security, and to the proper function of our government, military and civilian systems.</p>
<p>Achieving this is no easy task. In the wake of this latest WikiLeaks release, it’s certain that the CIA and other agencies will further step up their <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-governments-and-companies-can-prevent-the-next-insider-attack-72235">insider-threat protections</a> and other defenses. But part of the problem is the amount of data the country is trying to keep secret in the first place.</p>
<p>We recommend the federal government review its classification policies to determine, frankly, if too much information is needlessly declared secret. Reportedly, as many as <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/2015-Annual_Report_on_Security_Clearance_Determinations.pdf">4.2 million people</a> – federal employees and contractors – have security clearances. If so many people need or are given access to handle classified material, is there just too much of it to begin with? In any case, the information our government declares secret is available to a very large group of people.</p>
<p>If the U.S. is going to be successful at securing its crucial government information, it must do a better job managing the volume of information generated and controlling access to it, both authorized and otherwise. Granted, neither is an easy task. However, absent fundamental changes that fix the proverbial <a href="https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/i-could-tell-you-id-have-kill-you-cult-classification-intelligence">cult of classification</a>, there likely will be many more WikiLeaks-type disclosures in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Forno has received research funding related to cybersecurity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) during his academic career.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anupam Joshi receives funding from a variety of governmental (NSF, DoD, NIST etc.) as well as industrial (IBM, GE, Northrop Grumman etc.) sources to support his research and educational activities as a faculty member.</span></em></p>The latest release from WikiLeaks, of information about CIA hacking efforts, is yet another reminder of how Americans and our government must better protect our secret information.Richard Forno, Senior Lecturer, Cybersecurity & Internet Researcher, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyAnupam Joshi, Oros Family Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/603062016-06-12T19:40:38Z2016-06-12T19:40:38ZThe hidden energy cost of smart homes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125635/original/image-20160608-15028-1eanmeo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Controlling our homes with the tap of an app may have hidden energy costs. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Smart home image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Light globes that change colour with the tap of an app, coffee machines you can talk to, and ovens that know exactly how long to cook your food: our homes are getting smart. These devices, just a few examples of what is known as “the internet of things” (or IOT), have been called the “<a href="http://www.commsalliance.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/51991/Enabling-the-Internet-of-Things-for-Australia.pdf">next great disruptor</a>” and “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/409774/14-1230-internet-of-things-review.pdf">the second digital revolution</a>”. </p>
<p>One of the great hopes of this revolution is that it will <a href="http://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy/home-automation">help households save energy</a>. Sensors can turn off lights and appliances when not in use, or turn the heating down when people go to bed. Smartphone apps can provide households with more insight into the energy use of their appliances.</p>
<p>While estimates vary widely, industry proponents suggest that emerging connected home technologies could <a href="http://compnetworking.about.com/od/homeautomationvalueproposition/a/top-reasons-to-automate-your-home.htm">help households reduce their energy bills by 10-25%</a>. Such claims are largely speculative given the absence of robust “before and after” research. </p>
<p>Social research from <a href="https://automatedsmarthome.wordpress.com/">Australia</a> and the <a href="http://www.demand.ac.uk/research-themes/theme-2-how-end-use-practices-change/2-1-domestic-it-use/">UK</a> is revealing ways in which IOT might also <em>increase</em> energy demand. We have identified three “hidden” energy impacts which are rarely considered in IOT research or energy-saving predictions.</p>
<h2>New updates and hardware</h2>
<p>Estimates of the true energy and data costs of IOT are <a href="https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/gigawatts2009.pdf">currently vague</a>. In part, this is due to the variety of possible impacts within the home, within distributed information infrastructures, and in the production, transportation and disposal of goods. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/25/server-data-centre-emissions-air-travel-web-google-facebook-greenhouse-gas">one estimate</a> suggests that the data servers required to power the internet already produce as much greenhouse gas as the airline industry (around 2% of global emissions). Some predict that server electricity use will <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/global-warming-data-centres-to-consume-three-times-as-much-energy-in-next-decade-experts-warn-a6830086.html">treble in the next decade</a>. </p>
<p>While IOT is still a relatively small (and largely unknown) part of this growth, its share is likely to <a href="http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Internet-of-things-is-coming-Is-your-datacentre-ready">increase substantially</a> in coming years. </p>
<p>As with smartphones and other computers, updates for connected devices add to growing <a href="https://theconversation.com/society-pushes-to-go-faster-but-data-binges-carry-environmental-costs-36672">data traffic and hence energy consumption</a> by data centres and transmission networks.</p>
<p>There may also be more energy demand from the increasing need for data centres, control rooms and home networks located <em>within</em> people’s homes (as observed in some of our research). This hard infrastructure takes up space, runs on energy and may require air-conditioned cooling or heating to keep it operating normally. </p>
<p>The rapid emergence of new software for household appliances such as <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-dilemma-how-to-future-proof-a-fridge/">fridges</a> and washing machines may encourage more frequent upgrading of these devices – <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/5107c36d-1456-4958-a361-882a2bd8ffe3/files/ntcrs-targets.pdf">as seen with televisions and computers over recent years</a>. </p>
<p>Given that it also takes energy to make appliances, discarding and upgrading devices that aren’t smart enough would undermine <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/5107c36d-1456-4958-a361-882a2bd8ffe3/files/ntcrs-targets.pdf">policies intended to reduce electronic waste (e-waste) and reduce embedded energy</a>. </p>
<h2>New needs</h2>
<p>Like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dream-homes-of-the-future-still-stuck-in-the-past-21169">industrial revolution of the home</a>, which raised cleanliness expectations and resulted in more energy and water consumption overall, devices like smart thermostats might also raise expectations for comfort, particularly if air-conditioned heating and cooling is used more often and in more rooms.</p>
<p>For example, home automation company Lutron promotes the creation of “<a href="http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/3672324a_Pleasance-Lutron%20Product%20Bro%20FINAL_sg.pdf">pleasance</a>” - a seductive concept promising the perfect combination of luxury, relaxation, pleasure and comfort - all enabled by smart tech.</p>
<p>This vision permeates a range of ambience and aesthetic connected technologies, such as mood and scene lighting, automated water fountains, smart toilets and whole-house audio-visual systems.</p>
<p>By themselves, such features may be relatively low-power. But they add to existing services and are <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/document/report-third-survey-residential-standby-power-consumption-australian-homes-2010">likely to require a degree of always-networked, always-ready standby power consumption</a>.</p>
<p>In one recent estimate, <a href="http://www.commsalliance.com.au/_0_data/assets/pdf_file/0007/51991/Enabling-the-Internet-of-Things-for-Australia.pdf">connected devices were forecast to grow globally from 10 billion in 2014 to between 30 billion and 50 billion by 2020</a>. With potentially billions of networked devices in the not-too-distant future, globally <a href="https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/gigawatts2009.pdf">these impacts could be considerable</a>.</p>
<p>With more devices at our fingertips, we are also using them more often. Instead of watching only one television, multiple family members can use their tablets and smartphones at the same time. Even though each individual device might be super efficient and battery-powered, <a href="http://greengumption.co.uk/live/wp-content/uploads/TheAmpereStrikesBack.pdf">it may add up to more energy demand overall</a>. </p>
<p>Even devices marketed to save energy might increase it. For example, some smart apps allow householders to switch their heating or cooling off remotely when they forget. </p>
<p>However, they also provide new opportunities to turn it <em>on</em> remotely. As <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/hometech/m19techknow-20150910-gjjwxy.html">one article suggests</a>: “if you want the aircon roaring before you come home … use the app to turn it on before you get home”.</p>
<p>Having more connected devices can also create more complexity. This is opening up markets for new devices that integrate and consolidate technologies across the home. </p>
<p>For example, virtual helpers like Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) and the Google Home Assistant can do everything from turning on your lights to playing your favourite music. These devices are new additions for most homes, consuming small amounts of energy in their own right, but adding to the energy demands of distant data servers.</p>
<h2>New services</h2>
<p>New services are also emerging, such as smart versions of mattresses and fridges that monitor health and assist with sleep, diet and medication patterns. </p>
<p>The security industry is also rapidly evolving to provide surveillance features which allow constant home monitoring from a distance and enable lights and appliances to be switched on to deter burglars. Devices also provide live-stream video sent to smartphones and tablets so householders can check on the activities of their children and pets. </p>
<p>All these devices involve various forms of energy demand, which includes powering the devices themselves. They also transmit data over the internet and make greater use of streamed media content; another key component of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/society-pushes-to-go-faster-but-data-binges-carry-environmental-costs-36672">growing energy used by the internet</a>.</p>
<p>That does not mean that IOT has nothing to offer: the devices we have described above arguably have many benefits. </p>
<p>But we do need to pay more attention to these hidden impacts as governments and households embrace these technologies for their promoted energy-saving benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yolande Strengers receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Energy Consumers Australia. She is affiliated with the Sociological Association of Australia (TASA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janine Morley and the DEMAND Centre receive funding from the RCUK Energy Programme and EDF as part of the R&D ECLEER Programme.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Larissa Nicholls receives funding from Energy Consumers Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Hazas receives funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.</span></em></p>Our homes are getting smarter and more connected – but at what cost to energy use?Yolande Strengers, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityJanine Morley, Senior Research Associate, DEMAND Centre, Lancaster UniversityLarissa Nicholls, Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityMike Hazas, Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/431412015-06-15T13:10:45Z2015-06-15T13:10:45ZWhen secret government talks are hacked it shows no one is secure in the connected age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84879/original/image-20150612-1475-vned7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The end of privacy?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hotel rooms aren’t as private as they used to be. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/11/duqu-20-computer-virus-with-traces-of-israeli-code-was-used-to-hack-iran-talks">Recent reports</a> suggest luxury hotels may have been targeted by national intelligence services trying to spy on negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.</p>
<p>The talks weren’t bugged in the traditional way of hiding microphones in the room. Instead, hackers infected hotel computers with a computer virus that its discoverers say may have been used to gather information from the hotels’ security cameras and phones.</p>
<p>The virus was discovered by cyber-security firm Kaspersky Labs when the company itself was infected by a sophisticated worm known as Duqu2. Kaspersky went about investigating which other systems around the world might have been attacked. Among the huge range of systems they checked, thousands of hotel systems were analysed. Most of these had not been subjected to an attack, but three luxury European hotels had also been hit by Duqu2.</p>
<p>Each was compromised before hosting key negotiations between Iran and world leaders regarding the country’s nuclear programme. Having <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/24/israel-spied-on-us-over-iran-nuclear-talks">previously been accused</a> by the US of spying on the talks, Israel – which was not involved in the discussions – is now <a href="http://bit.ly/1e8qxXB">under suspicion of </a>(and denies) deploying the virus.</p>
<h2>Hacking a hotel room</h2>
<p>Of course, full details of exactly what information has been leaked will take some time to understand. As we saw when <a href="https://theconversation.com/credibility-at-risk-in-sony-hacking-scandal-1038">Sony was hacked</a>, further revelations are likely to emerge over time. What is apparent is that parts of the worm were designed to compress video, and others to collect communications data from phones and Wi-Fi networks.</p>
<p>Many hotels, especially luxury ones, use computerised camera surveillance and have many other sensor devices collecting and transmitting data, such as smart TVs. The fact that these three hotels were all scheduled to hold very sensitive talks before being attacked by highly sophisticated malware is unlikely to be a coincidence. </p>
<p>There are a number of ways the worm could have been spread to the hotel computer systems. Viruses can, of course, be sent as attachments to emails and often spread in this way. Up-to-date security software can stop most known viruses. But in cases such as this, where the malware and the vulnerability it exploits were previously unknown, the virus is not detected and so can infect the machine. </p>
<p>Another possibility is that an employee or contractor or someone masquerading as such could have infected a machine at the hotels. Duqu2 is thought to be related to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stuxnet-is-scary-but-human-safety-should-come-first-18576">virus Stuxnet</a>, which brought down Iranian nuclear facilities and was spread, at least in part, through USB drives used by people working in the nuclear industry. Coincidentally, it is thought the infected USBs were likely to have been picked up from in hotels in India and Iran.</p>
<p>We are now living in a highly connected world that is increasingly dominated by smart devices and the so-called internet of things, where many objects and appliances gather data and are connected to the internet. These devices have all types of sensor and actuators and can be controlled remotely and without human intervention.</p>
<h2>No escape</h2>
<p>If these devices are controlled by someone other than the owner, they can be used to pass interesting information to the person in control. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30121159">Last year</a>, a Russian website streamed data from over 500 internet-connected video devices, including baby monitors. Accessing these devices didn’t even require advanced malware. Instead, hackers abused the failure of the devices’ owners to set a complex password in order to gain control.</p>
<p>Numerous actors, from terrorists to cyber-criminals have an interest in accessing information from governments, companies and individuals. But <a href="https://theconversation.com/redefining-privacy-in-the-age-of-edward-snowden-21891">Edward Snowden</a>, who leaked details of the US and UK’s official data-capture programme, revealed just how much nation states also have a thirst for information, using both targeted and more blanket attacks to provide intelligence. </p>
<p>Clearly, in such a “smart” world, we need to get better at protecting access to our systems and devices, and that includes ensuring that the users smarten up too. This means not only ensuring our anti-virus software, firmware on our hardware, and operating systems are fully up-to-date, but also that we take care ourselves using USB devices or opening unknown attachments.</p>
<p>We are seeing <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/29/major-cyber-attacks-internet-experts">an increase</a> in political groups compromising the systems of companies, governments and individuals, as well as attacks for notoriety or financial gain. No system is beyond being a target, no matter how small or large.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43141/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carsten Maple does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Israel is suspected of spying on Iran’s nuclear talks using a virus to hack the devices that are all around us.Carsten Maple, Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/374092015-02-10T06:03:52Z2015-02-10T06:03:52ZIt’s not just your TV listening in to your conversation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71575/original/image-20150210-24664-52p5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Samsung's new Smart TV's could be listening to every word you say.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/samsungtomorrow/8343592295">Flickr/SamsungTomorrow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Be careful what you say in front of your new television, following reports that Samsung’s new Smart TVs are now being programmed to listen to every word you say and send it over the internet to a third party cloud service.</p>
<p>The news was originally <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/05/your-samsung-smarttv-is-spying-on-you-basically.html">reported by the The Daily Beast</a> but soon spread far and wide, with <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31296188">some making comparisons</a> to George Orwell’s novel 1984, which depicted a nightmarish world of a state listening into its citizens.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"564356757007261696"}"></div></p>
<p>Given Samsung’s <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/apple-accuses-samsung-purposefully-destroying-evidence">reputation</a> for sometimes shady practices, there was notably some concern. But how much should we really be worried?</p>
<p>After all, the idea of computers listening to your speech is not a new concept – in both fact and fiction.</p>
<p>Back in the 1970s, the producers of Star Trek decided that one of the preferred communication mechanisms for computers in the future (the original show was set in the 23rd century) would be for people to simply say “computer” and then make a natural language enquiry about the state of the ship or the location of the Klingons.</p>
<p>The computer would dutifully respond giving Captain Kirk or some other crew member all the information they required. The computer was listening and ready to respond at all times and no one seemed concerned about privacy. It all seemed to work perfectly well, except when the Enterprise crew travelled back in time, of course.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hShY6xZWVGE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Talk to the technology</h2>
<p>In the real world, voice recognition and phrase detection systems have existed for <a href="http://www.techhive.com/article/243060/speech_recognition_through_the_decades_how_we_ended_up_with_siri.html">some time</a>, going all the way back to the original <a href="http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm">Dragon Dictate</a> software for the PC in the 1990s (and now available for Macs), and the Mac Dictate software on the equivalent Mac platforms.</p>
<p>The latest smartphones have also started to integrate this concept of voice activation with <a href="http://support.apple.com/en-au/HT4992">Apple introducing</a> “Hey Siri” in its latest operating system update (<a href="http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/">iOS 8</a>).</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5n8Z5BmSSx8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Google also has the “<a href="https://www.google.com.au/landing/now/">OK Google</a>” feature for both their Android smartphones and its Google Glass headset (if ever Google Glass makes a comeback).</p>
<p>With both these features, the smartphone begins to act <a href="https://theconversation.com/out-with-the-keyboard-as-talk-takes-over-typing-35951">just like the computer in Star Trek</a>, listening all the time for a certain phrase and then responding back when it hears you address it.</p>
<p>Try it for yourself. On your iPhone, find “Hey Siri” in the settings and turn it on, then shout “Hey Siri” from across the room to ask a question; it’s amazing to set a timer or check the weather hands free! Similarly, on your <a href="https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2940021">Android device</a> open the Google search and say “Ok Google” and then speak your request.</p>
<p>So, given that these features have existed for a while, why are people now becoming concerned about technology listening in to what they say?</p>
<p>It’s all about privacy and the cloud.</p>
<h2>All your data are belong to us</h2>
<p>This issue arises because of a key difference between those early phrase detection systems and today’s implementations.</p>
<p>In those early systems, before the invention of the modern internet, all of the voice processing was done locally, on the machine that was listening to your voice. No data about what you said was transmitted over a network.</p>
<p>But, in recent years, voice recognition systems have changed. To deal with the limited processing power present in smartphones (and TVs), and to increase voice recognition accuracy, many voice recognition systems now record what you have said. They then <a href="http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203548">upload this to a server</a> in the cloud for analysis, before returning the result to your smartphone for action.</p>
<p>Those with an iPhone will have noticed this due to the fact that Siri cannot take your commands when you are not on the internet, even if the request is a local one (like setting a timer).</p>
<p>While this does increase accuracy and saves your phone’s processor, it also means that any request you make is being sent over the cloud, possibly to a third party organisation. </p>
<p>Combined with the ability of devices to listen all the time, this may cause some people to worry that the machines are keeping track of everything we say.</p>
<p>With the integration of this listening technology into <a href="https://theconversation.com/smaller-is-smarter-at-the-2015-consumer-electronics-show-35897">more devices over time</a> (such as the upcoming Google and Apple smartwatches, as well as recent deals to improve voice recognition in cars), there could potentially be a machine in many places listening to your conversations.</p>
<p>So, what to do?</p>
<h2>Stop talking so loudly, the Internet might hear</h2>
<p>Currently, just like the issue with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-do-we-really-know-about-privacy-on-facebook-30813">Facebook Messenger last year</a> – when some users were worried about what information the new app would tap into on their devices – it comes down to privacy policies.</p>
<p>Based on the above, it’s reasonable to assume that many devices will now be listening, so it’s worth checking the privacy policies of the various organisations involved to make sure they have stringent controls on the way that your data is shared and stored.</p>
<p>In the case of Samsung, the company has <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-record-your-living-room-chatter/">made it clear</a> that the data in question is encrypted and is only used to interpret your commands as issued to the television.</p>
<p>Google and Apple have <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/privacy/">similar privacy policies</a> as well. So far all these organisations’ machines that are listening are bound in what they can do with the data.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting though that all these privacy policies are subject to change at any time. Until we have global policies that deal with the privacy of our data and how it is used, it is possible that in the future anything you say could be used in a different way than you originally thought. </p>
<p>So, perhaps for now, it’s worth watching what you say in front of your TV … and your smartphone … and also your new smartwatch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37409/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Cowling does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Be careful what you say in front of your new television, following reports that Samsung’s new Smart TVs are now being programmed to listen to every word you say and send it over the internet to a third…Michael Cowling, Senior Lecturer & Discipline Leader, Mobile Computing & Applications, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/225472014-01-31T13:37:19Z2014-01-31T13:37:19ZAdvertisers look with empathy into your front room<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/40294/original/wwnf3xwn-1391166956.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Someone's about to get sold a Lucozade.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">adwriter</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Technology is under development to enable advertisers to target products not just at a broad group of people that might be watching a certain type of programme but at specific households and even individuals.</p>
<p>By gathering information about what you watch and do in your front room, they can decide which adverts will have the most traction. It’s an advertisers dream to broadcast to an audience of one and we are ever closer to this becoming reality.</p>
<p>In the UK, the charge is being led by <a href="http://corporate.sky.com/media/press_releases/2014/sky_adsmart_launch">Sky</a>, which says that Tesco, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Littlewoods, American Airlines, Audi, Citroen and Dial-A-Flight will all use its AdSmart services.</p>
<h2>A window on your world</h2>
<p>Their efforts are, in part, made possible by the fact that there are now many more ways to watch televisual content than on televisions, such as online via Netflix or catch-up services. The cookies we leave behind when we watch all help those providing the programmes build up a picture of what you like and what you watch. That’s pure gold for advertisers.</p>
<p>But we also connect our TVs to different devices, such as Xboxes, which will offer a window into our world like never before. An Xbox enables advertisers to target content at you based on your subscriber information, such as your age, gender and address. </p>
<p>These devices can also see into your living room. Sensors in an Xbox make it possible to play games without a controller in your hand because they can scan the content of the room and identify how many people are in it. That, in turn, means advertisers can gather the information and deliver even more <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/12/wired-world-2014/tv-ads-that-know-you-intimately">refined advertising</a>. Spooked yet? Well, there’s more.</p>
<h2>Verizon’s big play</h2>
<p>If you have time to spare, it can be illuminating to search for the patent applications of technology companies. I did, and found a fascinating application by telecommunications company Verizon to the US patents office, titled <a href="http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=20120304206&OS=20120304206&RS=20120304206">Methods and Systems for Presenting an Advertisement Associated with an Ambient Action of a Use</a>. This shows that the company has patented a suite of technologies that would trigger tailored advertisements based on whether viewers are eating, playing, cuddling, laughing, singing, fighting, talking or gesturing in front of their sets. Cuddling, for example, might trigger advertisements for a trip to Paris.</p>
<p>It might seem like an incredible leap but the ability to make assessments about you comes from technologies that we are gradually becoming accustomed to already. Motion capture and analysis technologies, gesture recognition technologies, facial recognition technologies, voice recognition technologies and acoustic source localisation technologies all combine to build an accurate picture of who you are and what you are doing. </p>
<p>It’s not just the fact that you are moving or speaking but the gestures you make and the mannerisms you display. It’s your physical attributes and the tone and inflection of your voice. It’s the language you speak or the accent you have and it’s your proximity to others.</p>
<p>And, it’s not just people. Pets, products, brands, decorative style, objects such as pictures and photographs can also be scanned and profiled. If your TV picks up a small furry shape moving around your feet, it may start pushing cat food at you.</p>
<p>Verizon’s set-top box will determine which people present are adults by linking what information it has in its user profiles with variables such as physical appearance and voice attributes. Once it knows the tone of your voice and your mannerisms it could even guess your mood. This is yet more valuable information for advertisers, who can suggest a holiday when you’re feeling down or a DIY store when you’re full of energy.</p>
<p>If you’re humming a tune, Verizon plans to use a signal processing heuristic to identify the name and genre of the song. Very handy when music labels ask it to sell their latest releases.</p>
<p>And of course, if your TV can gather all this information about you before it shows you an ad, it can monitor your response to that ad once you’ve seen it.</p>
<p>Then it can communicate with the mobile device or tablet you are using as you watch, sending ads to you while you browse and taking cookies back for future reference.</p>
<h2>Empathy: the future of advertising</h2>
<p>This all takes the idea of behavioural advertising quite literally. What’s more, the TV, the advertising and the devices could even be said to be displaying a whole new characteristic: empathy.</p>
<p>And if they can empathise, we might have to revise how we think about the media.</p>
<p>It’s important to note that empathy is quite distinct from sympathy. Empathy is a form of reading social cues and responding appropriately. It’s about understanding others by watching, listening, sensing and making inferences about actions or inaction. </p>
<p>We do this without thinking as we assess how others are getting on, check people’s current behaviour against past behaviour, and revise our actions toward others if we get an unwanted reaction. These are all actions being performed by this type of advertising system.</p>
<p>The question is not one of intelligence or whether machines might act like people, but that people and machines (arguably along with animals) empathise in similar ways through responses to public behaviour. After all, when we humans empathise, we do not literally feel into the skulls of others, we read and respond to public signals. That’s what empathic media is increasingly doing too.</p>
<p>As this technology edges towards the market, what people say, do and feel in the domestic sphere become increasingly public. The boundaries are being tested and the meaning of personal privacy redefined and, at least for now, it’s the advertisers that are calling the shots.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>ANDREW MCSTAY lectures at Bangor University and is author of Digital Advertising; The Mood of Information: A Critique of Online Behavioural Advertising; Creativity and Advertising: Affect, Events and Process; and the forthcoming book Privacy and Philosophy: New Media and Affective Norms.</span></em></p>Technology is under development to enable advertisers to target products not just at a broad group of people that might be watching a certain type of programme but at specific households and even individuals…Andrew McStay, Lecturer in Media Culture, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/117432013-01-24T07:09:03Z2013-01-24T07:09:03ZNo longer a brand apart: getting to the core of Apple’s share price slump<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19601/original/5x33kf5b-1359006934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Apple share price has been punished after unveilling disappointing first quarter earnings, but its "cool" status has taken a bigger hit.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>The stockmarket was hoping for great things from Apple’s earnings announcement for the December quarter. Most of all, they were hoping for something that would turn around a <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=AAPL+Interactive#symbol=aapl;range=5y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;">four month slide</a> in Apple’s share price that has seen Apple lose nearly $200 billion in value. That is the equivalent of losing the entire value of Microsoft.</p>
<p>However, it was not to be. Apple’s first quarter <a href="http://www.technologyspectator.com.au/apple-q1-revenue-misses-expectations-iphone-sales-below-targets">earnings announcement</a> for 2013 slightly missed analysts targets and the market responded swiftly with share prices dropping a massive 10% in after-market trading. </p>
<p>The fact that Apple could actually have a record quarter of sales of iPhones and iPads and still disappoint the market shows how out of love investors are with Apple. Apple’s <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-23/apple-s-holiday-sales-miss-predictions.html">overall sales</a> were a record $54.5 billion, an 18% increase over the same period last year. Profit, however, was largely unchanged at $13.1 billion. The reason for this was increased costs of manufacturing, largely due to the number of new products that Apple released at the end of last year.</p>
<p>The market has been looking for a sign that Apple could do something “insanely great”. All year, it has been waiting for Apple to announce the next product or strategy that was going to move them on from just iPhones and iPads. For <a href="http://www.cultofmac.com/208402/itv-will-be-the-big-elephant-in-the-room-at-ces-this-year-ces-2013-preview/">many</a>, there was the hope that Apple would release their version of a Smart TV. Tim Cook had <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/12/06/tim-cook-publicly-hints-that-apple-plans-to-redefine-the-television-set">hinted</a> as much in an interview but as yet, it has failed to materialise. Others believed (so far, wrongly) that Apple would get into music streaming and would <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57556472-37/apples-streaming-music-service-could-debut-in-2013-analyst/">release a service</a> called iRadio to compete against services such as <a href="http://www.spotify.com/">Spotify</a> and <a href="http://www.rdio.com/">Rdio</a>. </p>
<p>Coupled with a lack of new initiatives has been the relatively lacklustre critical response to new releases of the iPhone and iPad. The release of the iPhone 5 and iPad 4 were seen as incremental and starting to fall behind technologies and designs being incorporated into cheaper Android phones and tablets, especially those from rival Samsung.</p>
<p><strong>A brand for oldies in cardigans and slippers</strong></p>
<p>For Apple, of possibly more concern is the general perception that its overall brand is suffering. Samsung in particular has done a brilliant job of portraying Apple phones as the type of phone your parents would own. This has seemingly already turned the teen market against Apple, who <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/larissafaw/2013/01/09/is-apples-iphone-no-longer-cool-to-teens/">no longer see</a> the iPhone as being “cool”.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nf5-Prx19ZM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Apple also took a massive credibility hit with the <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/26/the-apple-ios-6-maps-fiasco-clarified-in-3-minutes/">Maps fiasco</a>. The maps application was shockingly bad and highlighted the disparity between the hype of its announcement with the reality of its use. This event became a tipping point for a large number of people who up to that time had not been fully ware of Apple’s “reality distortion field”. The Apple Maps application highlighted the difference between Apple and Google when it came to their ability to deliver services. Some commentators are now starting to think that Google will learn Apple’s design and manufacturing skills faster than Apple will ever learn how to deliver web services like Google.</p>
<p><strong>The next six months</strong></p>
<p>Apple’s share price forms only a poor proxy for how a company is viewed generally and there are many factors that will determine where the share price goes over the next 6 months. Technical analysts have <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-apple-earnings-overcome-technical-malaise-234913081--sector.html">described the stock</a> as “broken” and see its declines continuing with some support at the $425 level. Given the upswing in other stocks like Google, RIM and even Nokia, investors may simply just switch their allegiances elsewhere for the time being. </p>
<p>It is very tempting to draw parallels between the current situation with Apple’s mobile platform and where Apple was in the past in its battle with Microsoft over the PC market. If the past is repeated, Android and other phones will extend their domination of the global market and Apple will become a relatively successful but increasingly niche player. </p>
<p>Paradoxically, Apple can continue to be a financially successful company and continue to sell millions of devices but still end up playing a relatively minor role in driving future innovation and techno-social change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/11743/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glance does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The stockmarket was hoping for great things from Apple’s earnings announcement for the December quarter. Most of all, they were hoping for something that would turn around a four month slide in Apple’s…David Glance, Director, Centre for Software Practice, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.