Samsung Bans Apps Turning Smart TVs Into Unauthorized Proxy Nodes

The security flaw centers on residential proxy (resproxy) software embedded within seemingly benign applications, including a Pac-Man game previously featured in Samsung’s "Editor’s Choice" section. Research from the Norwegian firm Mnemonic reveals that these apps, often consisting of mere shells of code, can transform a television into an always-on tunnel for external web traffic. This process allows third parties to conduct activities—ranging from large-scale data scraping to cyberattacks—that appear to originate from a legitimate household rather than a malicious actor.

Harrison Sand, a consultant at Mnemonic, discovered that the proxy code often remains active in the background even after the application is closed. While some proxy networks are used for legitimate purposes like bypassing censorship, their tendency to mask the true source of malicious traffic makes them a significant security liability. Sand’s analysis confirmed that a single remote server update could theoretically activate millions of devices as a massive, synchronized botnet without user intervention. In response, Samsung confirmed it is implementing strict developer policies to ban residential proxy SDKs and is actively removing non-compliant software from its store, mirroring a similar crackdown initiated by LG last month.