LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps

LG Electronics USA said this week it plans to suspend any apps built for its smart TVs that turn the television into an always-on residential proxy node. LG Senior Vice President John Taylor told KrebsOnSecurity the company was working with app developers to remove the residential proxy option from their apps on the webOS platform. "A residential proxy network is not an intended use for LG smart TVs, and LG Electronics is working with developers to remove the residential proxy option from their apps on the webOS platform," Taylor said. "If this option is not removed, these apps will be suspended." Taylor said LG is committed to keeping residential proxy networks out of its smart TV apps going forward, and that the company's review of those apps is well underway now. He wrote in an emailed statement that LG will continue to strengthen its evaluation process for developer-submitted apps, including those that incorporate residential proxy SDKs. The move comes less than a month after researchers found that more than 42 percent of games and other apps available for download on LG's webOS store allow unknown third-parties to route their Internet traffic through a user's TV. Security firm Spur found residential proxy SDKs bundled with everything from simple games to screensavers and file utilities.