By rssfeeds-admin Free apps running on Samsung and LG smart TVs are raising privacy and security concerns after researchers found that some connected TV apps can turn home devices into residential proxy nodes.
The activity is linked to Bright Data’s software development kit, or SDK. This SDK is added inside partner apps and allows a user’s device, including a smart TV or mobile phone, to route web traffic for Bright Data customers. These customers may use the traffic for public web scraping, including AI-related data collection.
Smart TVs Become Proxies
A residential proxy uses a real home internet connection to send web requests. This makes the traffic look like it is coming from a normal user instead of a data center.
Many websites block scraping traffic from cloud servers, so residential IP addresses are more valuable for large-scale data collection.
Smart TVs are useful for this type of proxy activity because they are often always connected to Wi-Fi, plugged into power, and left in standby mode for long periods.
Unlike phones, they do not run out of battery easily and are rarely monitored by security tools. The report explains that the SDK contacts Bright Data infrastructure to fetch configuration details.
It can then open a persistent WebSocket connection to a peer tunnel domain. Once connected, the device can receive commands to perform web requests on behalf of another party.
Researchers also noted that app consent messages may not clearly explain the full impact. A user may agree to a free app with fewer ads, but may not understand that their TV’s IP address and bandwidth could be used to download public web data.
The main risk is loss of control. A home user may not know that their smart TV is being used as an exit point for third-party traffic.
This can create privacy concerns, consume bandwidth, and make suspicious web activity appear to come from the user’s home network.
The SDK was also found to collect device state information such as network type, battery level, idle status, bandwidth, CPU use, memory use, platform, app ID, and SDK version. This helps decide when the device is suitable for proxy use.
According to Includesecurity research, the report recommends blocking related domains such as proxyjs.brdtnet.com, proxyjs.luminatinet.com, and clientsdk.bright-sdk.com at DNS or router level. Security teams can also monitor TLS traffic for related domains and inspect apps for Bright Data SDK indicators.
| Country | Min battery to relay | Daily cap | Monthly cap |
| Uzbekistan | 1% | 1 GB | 30 GB |
| Oman | 1% | 1 GB | 30 GB |
| Qatar | 20% | 40 MB | 250 MB |
Users should review free smart TV apps carefully, remove unknown apps, avoid vague consent prompts, and block suspicious proxy domains through router DNS settings.
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The post Smart TV Apps Found Converting Samsung and LG Devices Into AI Proxy Nodes appeared first on Cyber Security News.
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