Many cyber-security vendors view ransomware as 2016's biggest threat, and to help drive this point home, a Symantec security researcher demonstrated how easy it can be to infect smart TVs and how hard it can be to clean the infection afterwards.
The researcher did not reveal the TV's make and model but said it was running a modified version of Google's Android operating system, which many brands also use for their smart TV products.
To infect his TV, Symantec's Candid Wueest used a common ransomware family that targets Android devices. This ransomware shows an annoying ransom note every few seconds, overlaying the message on top of the screen, making the device inoperable.
Most Android ransomware works on Android OS-based TVs
Mr. Wueest says that infection of his device was made possible due to the lack of SSL encryption for sensitive communications between the TV and remote servers, used for app installs or firmware updates.
