CIA hack of Samsung TVs was named after a Doctor Who monster
WikiLeaks' sudden dump of secret CIA documents includes a lot of detail on the exact methods the agency has been allegedly using to hack various devices. One of the more colorful descriptions is the tool created to hack Samsung smart TVs, which turned them into covert microphones.
The CIA called the hack "Weeping Angel."
For any fan of the Doctor Who, the reference was clear. The Weeping Angels are a monster on the show, known for their peculiar ability: The Angels (which are evil, of course) can move lightning-fast, but only when no one is looking at them. As soon as you lock your gaze in their direction, they freeze, unable to move, resembling statues.
The TV is most dangerous when no one is actually watching it — just like the Weeping Angels.
It's a fairly clever reference: According to WikiLeaks, the specific hack involves putting the Samsung TV in "Fake-Off" mode, meaning the TV looks off, but is really on, leaving the microphone engaged so the hacker can listen to anyone within earshot of the TV. That makes the TV most dangerous when no one is actually watching it -- just like the Weeping Angels.
WikiLeaks alleges the CIA developed the tool with MI5, Britain's equivalent of the FBI, which probably explains where the name came from. Doctor Who, while popular in the U.S., has been an institution in the UK since it first debuted in 1963, and references to the show are ingrained in the culture.
Exploits and vulnerabilities often have colorful names, but Weeping Angel will definitely go down in history as one of the geekiest.
Topics Doctor Who
Pete Pachal was Mashable’s Tech Editor and had been at the company from 2011 to 2019. He covered the technology industry, from self-driving cars to self-destructing smartphones.Pete has covered consumer technology in print and online for more than a decade. Originally from Edmonton, Canada, Pete first uploaded himself into technology journalism at Sound & Vision magazine in 1999. Pete also served as Technology Editor at Syfy, creating the channel's technology site, DVICE (now Blastr), out of some rusty HTML code and a decompiled coat hanger. He then moved on to PCMag, where he served as the site's News Director.Pete has been featured on Fox News, the Today Show, Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC and CBC.Pete holds degrees in journalism from the University of King's College in Halifax and engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. His favorite Doctor Who monsters are the Cybermen.
