Anil Singh - Dec 03, 2019

The more easy-to-access a smart TV is, the more insecure it’ll be.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal always strike us as a good time to run out of money purposely. While many people are getting crazy because of numerous goods with ultra-cheap price tags, a few are under threat of being allegedly stalked and mocked without any consent. Take smart TVs as the most notable examples: Their camera features recently have been accused of cheating on a number of unfortunate users.

Here’s a story that likely to scare you off: an Indian couple got shocked after they found out a video recording of them getting intimate, of course, on a porn website. Ironically, the husband in the story was surfing such a website then became stumbled upon that video, which streams a scene of them having sex.

Rather than being a regular TV, smart TVs essentially can act as the likes of a bigger-size tablet with the ability to connect to Wi-Fi. Once done, users can start watching online TV shows and films through specific apps like YouTube or Netflix, and so on. This comes with both advantages and disadvantages: the more easy-to-access a smart TV is, the more insecure it’ll be – especially when privacy layers and shields for them are not really facilitated.

Hackers, in the meantime, have more chances to outplay their victims due to the devices’ vulnerabilities and risks. If your smart TV comes with a microphone and camera, nothing promises to keep your life behind closed doors.

The risk of being spied on like what happened in the said incident has drawn a lot of concerns from both users and authorities. In the US, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently posted a warning letter to caution people against potential smart TV-related privacy flaws, just in time for the Black Friday season. What’s more, a lot of critics are casting doubt on whether smart TV manufactures place the security and privacy of their customers as a top priority or not.