Consumer Reports: Your 'Smart' TV Remains A Privacy & Security Dumpster Fire

By now it has been pretty well established that the security and privacy of most "internet of things" devices is decidedly half-assed. Companies are so eager to cash in on the IOT craze, nobody wants to take responsibility for their decision to forget basic security and privacy standards. As a result, we've now got millions of new attack vectors being introduced daily, including easily-hacked "smart" kettles, door locks, refrigerators, power outlets, Barbie dolls, and more. Security experts have warned the check for this dysfunction is coming due, and it could be disastrous.

Consumer Reports: Your 'Smart' TV Remains A Privacy & Security Dumpster Fire 7301SK6

Consumer Reports: Your 'Smart' TV Remains A Privacy & Security Dumpster Fire 7301SK6

Smart televisions have long been part of this conversation, where security standards and privacy have also taken a back seat to blind gee whizzery. Numerous set vendors have already been caught hoovering up private conversations or transmitting private user data unencrypted to the cloud. One study last year surmised that around 90% of smart televisions can be hacked remotely, something intelligence agencies, private contractors and other hackers are clearly eager to take full advantage of.
Consumer Reports this week released a study suggesting that things aren't really improving. The outfit, which is working to expand inclusion of privacy and security in product reviews, studied numerous streaming devices and smart TVs from numerous vendors. What they found is more of the same: companies that don't clearly disclose what consumer data is being collected and sold, aren't adequately encrypting the data they collect, and still don't seem to care that their devices are filled with security holes leaving their customers open to attack.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180207/10173639185/consumer-reports-your-smart-tv-remains-privacy-security-dumpster-fire.shtml

Consumer Reports: Your 'Smart' TV Remains A Privacy & Security Dumpster Fire

Consumer Reports: Your 'Smart' TV Remains A Privacy & Security Dumpster Fire

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

AnCaps In Science, Technology & Environment