According to a recent survey by the U.S. Consumer Reports, smart TVs installed in consumer homes are vulnerable to hacking and manipulation, tracking their daily viewing habits without the user's knowledge.
The nonprofit consumer product testing organization examined the top five smart TVs on the market and found that just a hacker can remotely control several of those smart TVs, such as adjusting the volume to its maximum, Turn off the TV's Wi-Fi network, quickly change channels or let the TV play annoying content.
These security vulnerabilities exist in Samsung, TCL and other smart TVs using the Roku TV platform, such as Phillip, RCA, Insignia and Sharp, Roku own streaming media player also spared test found that these smart TVs Being constantly tracking the user's viewing content and being able to feed back to the TV manufacturer or its business partners is using a technology called Automated Content Identification (ACR).
ACR helps TV recommend TV shows that you may like, but it can also be used to advertise ads to your home, which can be combined with your other personal information to build up your behavioral information and be sold to other marketers. Justin Brookman, head of privacy and technology at the Consumer Association, said: 'For years, consumers have been tracking their behavior when using the internet or smartphones, but I do not think anyone noticed that their TV was Track their behavior.
During initial setup, smart TV will ask the user to allow them to collect the user's viewing data, but also warn them that they may not be able to enjoy some features if they refuse.Be aware or impatient consumers may skip the settings, Did not read or understand what they allow.
A spokesman for Samsung Electronics said in a mail statement: "Many of our smart TV features combine the security of your data with the user experience. We always ask for them before we collect any data from the consumer And we make every effort to ensure that these data are handled with care.
In a statement, Roku said Consumer Reports reported that the organization was misleading and that there was no security risk, said in a statement that consumers can turn off remote-control features with set-up capabilities. Gary Ellison, vice president at Roku The statement said: 'We take the security of our platform and the privacy of our users very seriously.'
A TCL spokesman agrees with Roku's statement and claims: "Consumer privacy and security have always been our top priorities." The Consumer Reporting Group recommends that smart TV users who want to protect their privacy should check the instructions for use Return the TV to the factory settings and set it up again, and be careful not to let the TV collect its own viewing data.