Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users’ internet connections with strangers

Core Impact Points

• Samsung has banned smart TV apps that share users' internet connections with strangers, addressing a security risk that could have affected millions of smart TVs in the US.
• Research found that some popular apps, including a Pac-Man game, contained code that funneled outsiders' web traffic through users' internet connections.
• The code, known as residential proxy networks (resproxies), can be used for malicious activities such as scraping data and carrying out cyberattacks.
• Resproxies are not inherently illegal, but they have been linked to cybercrime and can be challenging for cybersecurity companies to tackle.
• Samsung's move to ban these apps comes after LG said it would also ban apps that contain resproxy software, highlighting the growing concern over smart TV security.
• The ban is a step towards protecting users' internet connections and preventing potential cyberattacks, but experts warn that a 'simple code change on a web server' could still activate hundreds of millions of smart TVs into a potentially malicious botnet.