Are you smart enough to handle Smart TV’s?

Smart TVs have been extremely popular recently especially with their prices headed south to as as low as Rs 10,000. People generally think of a Smart TV as a TV which can do more, conveniently. However, most people seem to have missed the added risks the ‘smartness’ comes with. A Recent study by F-Secure has revealed that Smart TVs can actually compromise your privacy without even you knowing.

This concern stems from the ability of Smart TVs to record and share content on its own. Further, Internet of Things (IoT) technology is still in the growing stage. Smart Cameras installed on these TVs might seem attractive for one aspect of technology, but like anything connected to the net, it is susceptible to hacking, and misuse.

Mika Stahlberg, F-Secure Director of Strategic Threat Research perfectly sums up this issue by saying – “The idea of being able to keep an eye on your dog while you’re at work, or seeing when your kids get home from school, is going to be really appealing for people. Every square inch of a smart home can potentially be monitored using IoT devices that are quickly becoming more accessible and marketed to consumers.”

We don’t really know when is our Smart TV recording and to whom can it potentially share the data with. No doubt, these features can help a lot in certain situations but what about when they are not in use? Only some of the companies such as Samsung include an option to completely disable the option of self-recording on its Smart TVs. But doing this for every device is impractical. For those who are not aware, Smart TVs can be hacked into and hackers can easily get information being accessed by the Smart TVs.

Mika pointed out this issue and said,”A lot of these newer Internet-connected devices aren’t really common enough to make hacking worthwhile for criminals, but this will change as more people buy them.”

“Manufacturers will eventually phase out non-smart products, and that’s when the security implications will really start to hit home. These devices will let criminals learn a lot about their potential victims, so securing privacy within a smart home is going to be something people need to do to keep their homes and families safe.”

If you thought that Smart TV will only add to the functionality of a regular Television, here is a real-time warning. Much like the irritating Mr. Know Alls we all have in life, Smart TVs can know too much about you, and be much more than merely irritating in its impact on your life.