The CIA and MI5 have the ability to hack the Samsung F8000 smart TV series which can then be operated as a listening device even when the televisions are switched off, the latest WikiLeaks dump has revealed, raising privacy questions for homes across the world.

Launched as a premium smart TV in 2013 the F8000 series has the ability to be controlled by the viewer using voice and motion sensors and has been distributed globally.

According to the documents published by WikiLeaks, audio could be obtained even when the TV appeared to be off, using a ‘Fake-Off’ mechanism that took control of the LED light.

               

WikiLeaks published thousands of documents Tuesday described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users' computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung.

The documents describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features intended to keep the private information of citizens and corporations safe from prying eyes. U.S. government employees, including President Donald Trump, use many of the same products and internet services purportedly compromised by the tools.

               

The CIA can hide its own fingerprints from its hacking exploits and attribute blame to others, such as Russia and China, according to WikiLeaks’ Year Zero confidential data release.

Every hacking technique leaves a “fingerprint” which, when collated, can be used to connect different attacks and tie them to the same culprit.

The CIA’s Remote Development Branch (RDB)’s Umbrage sub-group collects an archive of hacking exploits created by other actors, like Russia and other hackers, and leaves this false trace for others to detect.