Several years ago, smart TVs started to become popular choices in households. They are widely available now and provide a wide range of features and applications that make them an excellent choice. To stay competitive, users will be inclined to purchase more internet-connected devices to benefit from the convenience and extensive range of options that they provide.
Although smart TVs and other smart home devices may seem like a great idea, it's necessary to factor in the risks that could arise from them.
Several new studies have found that smart TVs, including those from Samsung and LG, are constantly monitoring the activity of their users on their screens, taking screenshots as often as every 10 milliseconds when they use their TVs.
Moreover, this technology is called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and it is capable of capturing images and audio from users' TV screens to recognize what's on it, and then use that information to display targeted ads based on what's on screen.
While smart TVs are incredibly convenient, they do come with one big downside: privacy concerns when it comes to their usage.
As mentioned before, these devices are capable of collecting and transmitting user data to third parties, including information about viewing habits and the device used. Adaptive Content Recognition technology, commonly found in smart TVs, confirms these concerns by tracking and using the viewing habits of users to show targeted advertising to them. There is a growing concern among companies about the safety of their personal information, due to the recent BoAt data breach, which has raised concerns about how their data can be inappropriately used.
BoAt has reported to have suffered a breach of Personal Identifiable Information (PII), including the private information of over 7.5 million customers, making the details available for sale on the dark web as a result of this breach.
Moreover, this should also come as a warning to users that the resultant leak is not only compromising their sensitive user data but also poses a serious threat to their bank accounts as well as any other confidential information they may possess.
This study's results indicate that smart TVs do collect quite a bit of data when they are used. This includes overall data regarding how long people watch linear TV shows, streaming movies and TV shows, how long they play games, and how long certain content is watched.
As a result of all of this data being gathered, a unique digital fingerprint is created, which is sent back to the manufacturer's servers for storage and analysis, which is then sent to the manufacturers. There is no doubt that this is excellent news for users, and manufacturers, because, based on the viewing behaviour of each smart television, they can draw precise conclusions about our viewing habits.
A study published by the MIT Media Lab found that smart TVs don't simply analyze network traffic to determine what users are watching, but they also take screenshots of the display at regular intervals to analyze what users are watching.
Several privacy concerns have been raised concerning Microsoft’s Windows Recall feature, which has been deeply criticized over security concerns concerning it. Several factors determine the type of data that users' smart TV collect, including its brand, manufacturer, and model. According to Toby Lewis, global head of threat analysis at cybersecurity company Darktrace, most smart TVs can collect audio, video, and television usage data through the collection of GPS and other tracking devices.
One of the features of these devices that is capable of generating significant amounts of data is voice activation.
As the microphones and software add a listen for instructions, they can also capture other sounds within a hearing range, such as conversations and other sounds.
A third party may be asked to analyze these recordings and they may be sent to them for analysis.
In addition to cross-device tracking, other factors need to be considered as well. Taking the data that users' smart TVs collect and combining it with other smart devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and home automation gear, Fielding believes that the data collected will be more valuable to users' businesses.
A profile can be built by using various data sources, including geolocation, web browsing activity, and social media information, that allows an individual to be characterized in more detail.
Furthermore, some cookies and trackers are placed on users' computers. Smart TVs are now able to track, identify, and track users by using cookie- or pixel-tracking technologies in the same way that websites do. Cookies allow users to be identified for target marketing purposes.
As Fielding warns, most apps installed on users' smart TVs will be sharing their personal information with a vast array of advertisers and data brokers, so they need to be careful.
To stay protected, it is important to stay current on the latest developments in Smart TV security to stay on top of any potential threats. Keep abreast of security threats and fixes by attending webinars, reading articles, and following experts in the field to ensure users are always up-to-date. It is important to educate users about their Smart TVs to keep it safe from hackers and keep themselves one step ahead of the hackers.
