Samsung Tightens Security and Bans TV Apps That Share Internet Connections

Samsung has begun banning smart TV apps containing special code that shares users’ internet traffic with third parties. These dangerous programs could have left millions of Samsung Smart TV devices exposed to cyberattacks and the risk of losing control. TechCrunch.com reports .

According to findings published by researchers at Norwegian cybersecurity company Mnemonic, some popular Samsung Smart TV apps contain code that routes the owner’s internet connection to outside parties. The developers said such apps may have been installed on hundreds of millions of home TVs.

At least one of the dangerous programs turned out to be a simple Pac-Man game that Samsung itself had specifically recommended in its “Editor’s Choice” section. These apps used resproxy technology—residential proxy networks that allow outsiders’ web traffic to pass through ordinary home and office internet networks.

How the dangerous mechanism works

According to Mnemonic experts, when such programs are opened, the smart TV becomes a continuously running tunnel—an exit node—that forwards outsiders’ web traffic. Notably, the process continues even after the app itself is closed.

The experts found that these apps were very simple, consisting of just a few lines of code and mainly designed to load content from another website. During review in the Samsung app store, only the first few lines of code were visible, while the content that actually ran came from other sources, allowing the security system to overlook it.

Samsung and other brands’ response

After TechCrunch contacted Samsung about the findings, the electronics giant said it would officially ban apps that share internet connections with others and remove them from its store.

According to a Samsung representative, the company has already restricted the registration of new apps with such proxy functions on its Smart TV platform. Strict measures are now being taken to identify and remove all apps of this type currently available in the store.

Last month, LG also announced that it would ban apps using resproxy software after discovering that a significant number of programs in its app store connected TVs to a proxy network.