• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers—‘or you’re neurodivergent’

2

Nvidia built a $5 trillion company while making employees pay for their own lunch—but they get far more lucrative perks like stock discounts

3

Jeff Bezos says a 3-day workweek and more single-income households are on the way thanks to AI: ‘It’s going to be difficult to hire people’

1

Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers—‘or you’re neurodivergent’

2

Nvidia built a $5 trillion company while making employees pay for their own lunch—but they get far more lucrative perks like stock discounts

3

Jeff Bezos says a 3-day workweek and more single-income households are on the way thanks to AI: ‘It’s going to be difficult to hire people’
TechPointCloud

Samsung TVs Reportedly Ship With Major Hacking Flaws

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 4, 2017, 12:04 PM ET
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Samsung’s televisions and wearables reportedly have serious vulnerabilities that could allow malicious hackers to remotely take control of them.

Security researchers in Israel have uncovered 40 previously undiscovered vulnerabilities in the operating system running in Samsung’s line of smart televisions, smartwatches, and even mobile phones, which could give hackers easy access to the devices, Motherboard is reporting after discussing the findings with the researchers. Tens of millions of electronics could be at risk, security researcher Amihai Neiderman told Motherboard.

The security flaws are living inside Tizen, an operating system Samsung (SSNLF) has been developing over the last several years that runs on the company’s televisions, smartwatches, and some low-powered mobile devices. Hackers with knowledge of the vulnerabilities can be half a world away but connect over the Internet to a Samsung television or wearable, and assume complete control over the device.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Tizen is an operating system designed for a multitude of device types. And years ago, companies that make up the Tizen Association, which backs the operating system development, had hoped to deliver it as an alternative to Google’s (GOOGL) Android. However, Tizen has struggled to gain traction in the competitive mobile market, and Samsung has instead decided to bundle the operating system into home products and wearables instead of smartphones and tablets.

While Tizen holds an exceedingly small slice of the market compared to Android, it’s believed to be running on at least 30 million Samsung televisions, alone. Samsung has also said it plans to expand Tizen’s presence as part of a broader smart home push and bundle it with washing machines and refrigerators.

Neiderman didn’t say if hackers have been exploiting some of the flaws built into Tizen, and he has only been analyzing the software for the past eight months. He believes that many of the 40 flaws—called zero day exploits because there are no fixes and hackers could take advantage of them right now—were caused by Samsung coding errors that were never discovered in product testing.

The security researcher told Motherboard that he has been discussing the flaws with Samsung, though the company hasn’t said when—or even if—it might offer a fix.

Samsung did not immediately respond to a Fortune request for comment.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in Tech


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.