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Author Name: BoingBoing
This story was originally published on Boingboing.net. [1]
License: CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0.[2]


Samsung remotely bricked TVs stolen from warehouse

2021-08-25 00:00:00

Samsung South Africa announced recently that the serial numbers of TV sets stolen from a warehouse in Johannesburg had been flagged for shut-down. Any of the sets that come online will be remotely bricked—and they can't be activated unless they go online.

A TV blocking system has been activated on Samsung television sets stolen from our warehouse The blocking will come into effect when the user of a stolen television connects to the internet, in order to operate the television Once connected, the serial number of the television is identified on the Samsung server and the blocking system is implemented, disabling all the television functions Should a customer's TV be incorrectly blocked, the functionality can be reinstated once proof of purchase and a valid TV license is shared to [email protected] or click here for more information

The same thing is true (or at least technically possible) of most televisions sold nowadays, but Samsung is unusual in thinking "we can and will remotely destroy your television" is a feature to boast about to consumers. It's hard to be concise when describing Samsung, all told, but pointing out that the company's chairman was convicted and jailed for corruption gets you most of the way there.
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[1] URL: https://boingboing.net/2021/08/25/samsung-remotely-bricked-tvs-stolen-from-warehouse.html
[2] URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

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