Net TVs Can Be Hacked For Private Data

TV Predictions ^ | December 23, 2010 | Phillip Swann

[grayeagle]

Washington, D.C. (December 23, 2010) -- A security software company is alleging that owners of Internet-connected HDTVs could lose their credit card information and other private information to hackers.

That's according to an article by Multichannel News.

TV makers have been rolling out new TVs that, when connected to the Internet, display popular Internet applications on screen such as Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and YouTube.

But Mocana, the security software firm, said it was able to intercept and redirect Internet traffic to and from one name brand Net-enabled TV. This suggests that hackers could display fake banking and e-commerce websites on-screen while the Net TV owner would think they were real. Consequently, the owners might be tricked into giving his credit card information to the fake sites under the pretense of ordering a movie or product.

Mocana did not say which name brand TV it was able to hack. But Multichannel News writes that it appears to be Panasonic. The security firm says it has met with the name-brand company and is working on a security fix.

[grayeagle]

Net-connected TV's beware!

[GreenAccord]

I have a Sony XBR with a plethora of internet-enabled applications. Gotta be honest, I don’t think I’d ever knowingly, willfully enter my CC number info into an app on it, but it does have Netflix, so I would presume someone could access that profile information, which I did have to enter (username/pwd).

My guess is that there will be a firmware update soon related to this type of exploit.

[knarf]

I am blissfully devoid of a lot of electronics.

I'm sure what I have is capable of being hacked, but my guess is .. either maybe not, or not without a lot of trouble .. thus .. the plethora of 'personal' electronic devices/systems NETFLIX on your Wii, e.g. ... etc.