Is your SMART TV secure?

The rise of the digital era and the internet is continually revolutionizing everything, including home entertainment. Nowadays, every living room has a Tv which is connected to the internet; a SMART TV. With the popularity of cord-cutting, there’s no need to buy a SMART TV, all you need is a modern screen that supports HDMI cable and a SMART TV device such as an Android Box or a Firestick device.

With all the benefits that come with a smart TV, there’s one overlooked thing, cybersecurity issues that arise with the internet. For instance;

Online privacy and security

Most of the time, due to many devices, you are forced to create your private home network, this is possible by using a router – get the internet form your ISP, and connect many devices to it through a router. Most of the things you connect to your router are smart devices and your TV forms a part of your internet of things (IoT) network. These devices lack a configurable interface and hence securing them is a hard task. That leaves a vulnerability waiting to be exploited.

IoTs vulnerabilities are easy to exploit and most of the times cybercriminals are successful. But that’s not worrying. They are just enablers used by hackers to get into bigger devices such as your computer. But getting into a computer can be troublesome since most of the time its protected. An easier target is gaining access to your SMART TV which has no protection at all.

Your SMART TV contains apps which also contain your login credentials. Hackers can quickly gain access to these credentials and use them to do more damage. Other than that, cybercriminals can take control of your SMART TV and gain more confidential information. For instance, they can;

• Activate the microphone and use the webcam to spy on you.
• Steal information from installed apps, access data from other connected devices such as USB flash drives.
• Gain access to passwords and your SMART TV’s browser activities.

The malware menace

Besides stealing your data, cybercriminals can also infect your home network with malware. Also, they can control your Internet of Things via botnets and do more damage to other connected devices.

Protecting Your SMART TV

Making your SMART TV secure is a simple task as you only ensure it’s not vulnerable by doing the following;

• Using a security app – Modern SMART TV’s and SMART TV devices have access to an app store. Launch the app store, look for security apps such as antivirus software and install one. You can also sideload the security apps. They will protect your SMART TV against file-based malware.
• Use the TV for TV purposes – Being smart and possessing the ability to access the internet, you can be tempted to check your social media activities quickly, online work and even do some online shopping and internet banking. But before you proceed, remember why we have laptops, desktops, and smartphones. SMART TVs lack adequate security and hence performing such tasks pose a greater risk. Cybercriminals can easily access all that information as most Smart TVs don’t use secure protocols when accessing the internet.
• Use IPBurger VPN

IPBurger VPN will protect your TV and your devices from internet threats involving security and privacy. It does this by using encryptions and also assigning your devices a virtual IP address. This will further enable you to gain access to geo-restricted contents and bypass censorship. If your TV is android based, you’re in luck.