Study Finds 35% of LG and Samsung Smart TV Apps Contain Residential Proxy SDKs That Sell Users' IP Addresses
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Summary
A security investigation by Spur scanned 6,038 LG and Samsung smart TV apps and found that 2,058 (nearly 35%) contain residential proxy SDKs. These SDKs allow third parties to route internet traffic through users' home networks without their knowledge, turning smart TVs into proxy hosts. The article explains why smart TVs are ideal targets for this practice—they're always on, connected to home networks, and rarely audited by users. The report highlights significant privacy risks, as users' IP addresses are effectively being sold without consent, and calls attention to the lack of security scrutiny on smart TV app ecosystems compared to mobile phones.
Source
Hacker NewsStudy Finds 35% of LG and Samsung Smart TV Apps Contain Residential Proxy SDKs That Sell Users' IP Addressesspur.usKey quotes
· 3 pulledOn screen, it's a relaxing fish tank. Or a clock. Or solitaire. Or puppies. Under the hood, it is a residential proxy: software that can send other people's internet traffic out through your living room.
Smart TVs are almost ideal proxy hosts. They sit on the same home network as everything else, but they do not feel like computers, so people rarely audit them like computer.
Everyone worries about the apps on their phone. Almost no one looks at the ones on their TV.
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