Did you know Samsung can remotely lock your TV?

Did you know that Samsung pre-installs a solution on its TVs to remotely lock them? He admitted to it and assures that it is for the common good.

Samsung can remotely lock your TV…

South Africa recently experienced riots after the former president of the republic was arrested. While some citizens protested, others seized the opportunity to rob local shops and factories. As a result of such incidents, a lot of TVs have disappeared from Samsung's warehouses.

From the announcement issued by the South Korean manufacturer, we learned an interesting thing: all its receivers have a backdoor that allows them to be blocked remotely.

... But he won't do it without reason

Samsung announced that all of its TV sets (not only in South Africa) have the TV Block mechanism. Thanks to it, the manufacturer can remotely block access to all systems of a device with a specific serial number as soon as it tries to connect to the Internet.

Given the practices of companies in the consumer electronics sector, this is not a big surprise. However, such a message can certainly make a lot of noise.

It's hard to blame the manufacturer for introducing such solutions. However, there is the other side of the coin. Due to the fact that he announced it publicly, the topic became public, which means that the information also reached cybercriminals. They are certainly looking for a loophole and will try to use it for their own purposes - if only to extort money in exchange for unlocking access. And that's even worse news.

Nevertheless, Samsung argues that "this technology can have a positive impact and will be useful to both the industry and customers."

The following is the official statement of Samsung Polska on this topic:

"The sole purpose of using Samsung TV Block is to reduce theft from transports and warehouses and unauthorized retailing. This is to ensure that the TVs are used by owners with a valid proof of purchase. Samsung TV Block is only activated when there is a specific, confirmed report of a stolen or illegally obtained TV. Consumers can rest assured that this feature is not activated on TVs with a valid proof of purchase. Samsung takes consumer privacy very seriously and our TVs are designed to protect it” - Olaf Krynicki, Samsung Polska spokesperson.

Source: Samsung, own information