Phones and computers may seem like the devices most susceptible to hacking, but the truth is that these days, almost any Wi-Fi-enabled device is susceptible to hacking and security breaches, including smart TVs. And that’s exactly what Samsung and LG are trying to limit, with both companies recently announcing that each would ban certain apps available for download on smart TVs. This follows an alarming threat discovered where users were unknowingly allowing hackers to access their internet, known as a residential proxy.
Also called resproxy, these are software applications that relay Internet traffic from outside the network through the currently assigned IP address. Basically, they work like a VPN, but instead of assigning an external IP address, they hijack your public IP address. According to research firm Spur, more than 42% of the apps available for download on LG’s smart TVs – and a similar number on Samsung’s smart TV apps – contained software development kits (SDKs) for performing reproxies. Following this discovery, LG and Samsung both announced bans on smart TV apps that can open the door to hackers accessing your internet.
Why are residential proxies a threat?
Residential proxies may serve a valid and legitimate purpose, primarily for commercial and marketing purposes, but when used for illicit activities, hackers can carry out their nefarious acts from your IP address to make it appear as if your device is the source. This is why they are a major concern for cybersecurity in general and have gained a negative reputation. But what does all this have to do with your Samsung or LG smart TV?
There are lots of cool things you didn’t realize your smart TV could do, including turning into a proxy node. Affected applications, once installed and opened, expose the device to external influences. Basically, reproxies can turn TVs into an always-on, always-accessible tunnel through which hackers can route their web traffic. The TV then acts as a node, with incoming traffic and external access available to those in control.
Worse still, the parties involved can sell access to networks and data. A mnemonic researcher named Harrison Sand discovered that a licensed Pac-Man game can do just that on Samsung TVs. A company called Bright Data is behind an SDK built into Pac-Man and other apps that allows it to access and collect millions of residential nodes. Meanwhile, it sells access to scraped data sets on a marketplace that explicitly uses a network of smart TV nodes to execute its auctions.
You will never suspect some of the compromised applications
What’s most alarming is that some of the apps in question would be incredibly difficult for the average person to identify. The Pac-Man game, for example, was listed in Samsung’s Editor’s Choice section of the Smart TV app store, meaning it was officially supported. The problem, according to Mnemonic’s Sands, is that the game code shipped and available on the App Store is a sort of “shell”, which allows developers to swap out the external code at any time, including using new or separate SDK data. This is actually common in Smart TV apps because it makes it easier for developers to update and maintain apps without rolling out new versions to users.
It remains to be seen whether other TV manufacturers or smart TV ecosystems are affected. In situations like this, it’s helpful to know which manufacturers offer smart TVs with the longest software support, but it’s also important to uninstall any apps you don’t trust or no longer use. Security patches and firmware updates can also help protect devices from situations like this. Plus, there are still other ways smart TVs can collect your data. So you may still want to consider how you can prevent them from spying on your activities.
