Samsung Bans Apps That Hijack Users’ Internet Connections Amid Cybersecurity Concerns

Samsung is confronting a new security study revealing that popular applications, such as a Pac‑Man game, covertly convert household internet connections into a "residential proxy" network, thereby enabling Bright Data and similar firms to harvest data for AI training.

A Shocking Disclosure: Residential Proxies and Home Networks

■The Pac‑Man app activates Bright Data's resproxy code only after user consent, turning the TV into an exit node.

■The study shows that hundreds of millions of Samsung TVs could be compromised.

■These proxy networks, encrypted and difficult to trace, facilitate covert cyber operations.

Samsung’s Rapid Response and Policy Shift

■The company has halted new app registrations that include resproxy functionality.

■It is implementing platform‑wide developer policies to remove all existing apps with such components.

■LG has announced a similar ban, reflecting a broader industry stance.

Industry Ripple: Data Streams and AI

■Residential proxies are leveraged for large‑scale scraping of LinkedIn profiles and other datasets.

■AI firms use these networks to bypass censorship and gather training data.

■The encrypted traffic poses significant challenges for security firms.

Consumer Trust and Potential Botnet Threat

■A simple server-side code change could instantly activate millions of TVs as part of a botnet.

■Even after the app is closed, the resproxy code may continue running in the background.

Samsung’s proactive move underscores the critical importance of consumer security and brand integrity. Yet, these vulnerabilities also reshape the competitive dynamics for AI‑centric data collection, highlighting a rising demand for robust cybersecurity solutions and tightening protocols for industry giants.