Are Internet TVs the next target for online hackers?

Recent studies suggest that there are 25 million homes in the U.S with a TV connected to the Web, a figure that could quadruple by 2016. And a security expert says that those Web-connected TVs and other home entertainment gear could be tempting and easy targets for computer hackers.

Blogger Roger Grimes recently wrote in Info World about his previous exploits as a security adviser for an unnamed (but "world's largest") cable television service provider. As part of a "penetration team," he managed not only to bypass the set-top box's security—and redirect the box's Disney channel to free porn—but also to gain access to the provider's Web servers.

Currently, Web-connected TVs and set-top boxes such as Roku and Apple TV might make a small percentage of the hundreds of millions of U.S. TV households. And even with the tens of millions of set-top cable boxes used in American homes for decades, many consumers may think, "Why would a hackers break into my box? There's no money in it."

Maybe not. But with an increase in the number of boxes which connect to pay-per-view or subscription-based service such as Netflix comes the increased risk that a criminal enterprise will find some gain. Just ask the hundreds of thousands of the latest Mac malware victims who thought their Apple Mac computers were safe from hackers and didn't need security software.

Writes Grimes:

Can we make Internet TVs more secure than regular computers? Yes. Will we? Probably not. We never do the right things proactively. Instead, we as a global society appear inclined to accept half-baked security solutions that are more like Band-Aids than real protection.

While the entertainment and digital industry works to sort out what the security impacts may be for connected TVs and home media gear, our experts advice: Continue to follow the best privacy and safety practices as outlined in Consumer Reports Guide to online security.

Sources:
100 million TVs will be Internet-connected by 2016 [Los Angeles Times]
Spoiler alert: Your TV will be hacked [InfoWorld]
New malware targeting Mac OS X a 'wake-up call' for Apple users [Government Computer News]

—Paul Eng