Since they first appeared there have been concerns about the use of smart devices in the home.
- Is it safe to have everything connected to the internet?
- What personal information is making it’s way out of your home, to who-knows-where?
- And what could be coming in?
Samsung have added fuel to the debate recently, by posting (and subsequently removing) on Twitter:
It is well-known that
- smart TVs spy on your viewing habits, and sell the information to advertisers.
- voice command capabilites mean that your TV is listening to everything you say (and potentially transmitting it to unknown third parties).
And now it is YOUR responsibility to virus scan your TV every few weeks, or you could end up with malware!!?
Many critics argue that it shouldn’t be the responsibility of the user to perform virus checks. These, they say, should be made part of automatic security updates to the TV.
You may not think of your TV being susceptible to attacks like this, but if you have a smart TV that’s connected to your Wi-Fi network, then it could be – just like a smart speaker, smart display, or smart security camera.
Not surprisingly, Samsung quickly removed the comment, but the damage has been done. Why was the initial post put out? Is there a particular threat that we need to know more about? Nothing has been said about one. Javvad Malik, security 
awareness advocate at KnowBe4, has stated “at the moment, there is no evidence to suggest that malware is targeting TV’s, but that’s not to say it won’t be the case in the future.”
So, for now, there’s no need to panic, but if you’re buying a new TV, many experts are advising that you don’t bother with a smart TV – go for a smart set-top box instead.