Are Smart TVs the Next Security Target?
Codenomicon, a security solutions provider, has issued a warning to consumers about “the poor stability of name-brand smart TVs” from six manufacturers. The report, Smart TV Hacking: Crash Testing Your Home Entertainment, doesn’t disclose the manufacturer’s names and models tested “to protect users of those devises.”
The company conducted tests recently using smart model-based fuzzing tools that send “unexpected, abnormal inputs” to systems, then monitor the results. If a software is buggy, the device will crash. The technique is especially suited to finding zero-day vulnerabilities.
All of the tested units failed in repeated tests using critical communication protocols.
Given that so many smart TVs are connected to the Internet, consumers may have cause for concern. The report discusses potential problems, including denial of service attacks, loss of sensitive data, and covert malware.
The full research results (and Codenomicon’s analysis) is available for download at no cost. No registration is required.
-- James E. Powell
Editorial Director, ESJ
Posted on 06/21/2012