TV owners across the country are being urged to make four vital checks as boxes could be at risk of being hacked.
Cyber criminals are using televisons to sneak into people’s Wi-Fi networks in their latest scam. As well as TV’s, the hackers are forcing access onto other electronic devices to steal data.
This scam could cause household to suffer from a major spike in energy bills as the criminals can even use people’s electricity to build cryptocurrencies.
PCWorld revealed that 1.6 million Android TV users cos be at risk of the cyper hackers as a result of a new virus called Vo1d.
This new variant is particularly threathening as it has better encryption and cloaking abilities making it more difficult to detect.
Security researchers explained that the improved encryption on this variant prevents cybersecurity experts from sending commands to the bots and analysing them.
The hackers then use the infected TVs to commit illegal activities, including ad click fraud. This is where the criminals use other devices to create fake clicks on adverts.
As a result, they are able to make ads more expensive or fabricate and mislead performance numbers, which generates money for the fraudulent advertisers.
According to Intergralads, the clicks can also cause a spike in bills, as they lead to more energy consumption.
There are four things TV owners can to in order to check and ensure they are not affected by the virus.
The first thing to do is to ensure your device has received the latest security update in order for the most recent firmware and software to be installed.
Second, uninstall unused zombie apps, even on iOS and Android. The apps can act as a security risk as people might ot have updated the privacy settings on them.
The third thing to do is always make sure to install anti-malware software. It helps scan apps to ensure they cannot be hacker by criminals.
The fourth instruction is a warning to not buy from third parties. Consumers should always buy gadgets from reputable sellers.
Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Avdvisor at cybersecurity firm EST, told The Sun: “Like any smart device in the home, smart TVs are vulnerable to malware and the threat increases if users upload third party apps to them or they refrain from regular updates.”
