In this interview, host Speaker A talks with Robert Siciliano, CEO of ID Theft Security, about a new cybersecurity threat involving popular digital photo frames. Siciliano explains that these frames, which function as external storage devices, can be pre‑loaded with malware at the manufacturing stage—often in factories in Singapore or China. When a user plugs the frame into a computer to upload photos, the embedded virus can activate, giving remote hackers control of the PC. Siciliano advises users to install up‑to‑date antivirus software (including on Macs), to scan any newly connected peripheral before use, and to let the antivirus isolate or delete any detected threats. If infection is found, he recommends returning the device to the retailer rather than continuing to use it. He notes that major retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy have been selling the compromised frames. The interview serves to alert consumers to this emerging risk and provides practical steps to mitigate it.
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Alright, turns out that a hot-selling Christmas gift is a picture-perfect tool for hackers. Scammers now using those popular digital photo frames, you know, the kind you put 500 pictures on and they constantly change, to steal information from your computer. Surprised? Robert Siciliano isn't. He's the CEO of ID Theft Security. This is a new one for me, Robert. Explain how this works. I understand you buy the frames and they're a big hit. I mean, I almost bought one this Christmas season. I did not.— but because apparently we're in a recession, so I didn't shop. But you buy these frames, you plug them into your computer, presumably to upload the photos, but the bad guys have put something on that goes the other way. Explain.
It is a peripheral. It is a storage device, like any external hard drive. Even a music player or a camera are all storage devices, and they all can have viruses on them that are installed at the point of manufacture. So somewhere in Singapore or China, someone is actually installing a virus on this device. You buy it, you plug it into your PC, it activates activates this virus that then takes over your PC, allows a criminal hacker from anywhere in the world to remotely control your computer.
All right, so what do we do about it? A lot of people now that are watching the program suddenly have their eyes open. If they bought one of these and they did what you said, what can they do to make sure that there's not something nasty on their computer?
Well, the first thing is you have to have antivirus installed on your PC. Make sure you have a antivirus provider that runs in the background, that sets up to automatically download—
Yeah, but that slows the computer down. What if you have a Mac?
Well, if you have a Mac, you still have to have virus definitions. I mean, you have to have an antivirus provider like McAfee that you download and install those antivirus definitions so it runs automatically in the background. You have to do that. And then make sure that when you install that peripheral, that you actually isolate that peripheral and have that antivirus provider scan that device looking for a virus on that device. You have to do that.
In other words, don't check your computer hard drive because when you plug it in, it shows up as like a separate drive on your desktop. Have it search that thing.
Exactly. And once you do that, it will let you know if it's clean or if it's got a virus on it. And if it does, that antivirus provider will take care of eliminating that virus for you.
Quickly, anything else? What if you find something? What else can we do?
Well, once, once you find something, that antivirus program generally will delete that file. It'll isolate it. Or, and/or, you should probably just take that device back. I would not actually work with any device that has been infected.
Take it back to Taiwan where it was made?
Well, take it back to whatever retailer you purchased it from. Some of the retailers that have been selling these are like major retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. They're, they're in direct retail channels that you and I do business with every day.
All right, Robert Siciliano, good tip here. Something new we hadn't heard about this until now. We appreciate your time. Thanks very much.
