Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users’ internet connections with strangers
Samsung is banning smart TV apps that utilize residential proxy networks to share user internet connections with third parties. This action follows security research revealing that these apps could turn TVs into exit nodes for cybercrime.
Why it matters
It addresses a significant privacy and security vulnerability affecting millions of smart home devices.
Several popular Samsung smart TV apps contain code that share the owner’s internet connection with strangers, potentially putting millions of Samsung smart TVs at risk of hijacking, according to new security research published on Monday.
Some of these apps claim to have been installed on hundreds of millions of smart TVs in people’s homes, per the app developers.
At least one of the smart TV apps was a simple Pac-Man game that Samsung had endorsed and prominently featured in its “Editor’s Choice” section on customers’ TV screens.
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