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Internet-of-things-enabled devices are constantly reporting usage data back to their manufacturers, the UK government was warned.
Chinese-made microchips embedded in internet-of-things devices like smart fridges, cars, and televisions allow Beijing to spy on unsuspecting Britons, a report from think tank OODA published on Monday and seen by the UK Telegraph revealed.
The report alleges that the threat from Chinese-made components, called cellular IoTs, is greater than that posed by the Chinese-made Huawei 5G components, which the UK government decided to cut out of Britain's 5G network by 2027, under heavy US pressure.
These 'Trojan horse' modules are found in every device connected to the Internet of Things, from laptops and smart-watches to cars, refrigerators, smart meters, doorbell cameras, credit card payment machines, even lightbulbs. Designed to collect usage data and transmit it back to the manufacturer using 5G networks, they can produce a relatively detailed picture of a user, a community, or an entire industry.
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https://www.rt.com/news/570432-chinese-chips-espionage-threat-report/
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I don't have any smart devices in my house. I built my computer from scratch over 12 years ago, so I know what's inside it.
If you get a new smart TV, you can open it up and cut the microphone loose. If the TV is designed not to work with that wire cut, you can replace the microphone with a resistor, 8 or 4 ohms. If you don't want to open the TV, find the microphone hole and shoot it full of Gorilla glue.