Samsung Electronics has begun removing Smart TV applications that secretly allow third parties to use customers’ home internet connections, following growing concerns over privacy, cybersecurity and the misuse of residential internet networks for AI data collection.
This move comes after security researchers discovered that hundreds of Smart TV applications contained hidden residential proxy software development kits (SDKs) which enable users’ internet connections to be rented out to external parties with limited user awareness.
According to reports, the affected applications appeared to be harmless utilities such as games, digital clocks, aquarium screensavers, and file management tools. However, embedded within many of them was software that could turn a Smart TV into a residential proxy, thereby allowing external companies to route internet traffic through a user’s home network.
Samsung’s action follows a broader industry review after researchers found similar software across both Samsung’s Tizen platform and LG’s webOS ecosystem. Electronic Time, a
This post was originally published on this site.
