News: Digital TV may lead to spying

Millions of South Africans could be at risk of having their personal information hacked and misused, as SA moves from analogue television to a digital signal, warn industry experts.

The country is preparing for the global switchover to digital broadcasting in 2015. However, to watch the new signal, every one of the 10 million households that owns a television will need a decoder.

These decoders, or set-top boxes, not only have the ability to receive signal, but also to send information through a return path. Government's plan is for the boxes to be interactive, and allow citizens to fill in forms from their boxes, although it is unclear what types of forms this will include.

The late minister of communications, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, previously said the return path feature “enables the full and interactive provision of e-government services, such as accessing, filling in and sending back government forms”. This is according to the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy, which was released towards the end of 2008.

The Digital Dzonga Council, which is overseeing the move, says any information sent or received by the box will be as secure as any other form of Internet-based communication.

However, industry commentators say not enough is being done to ensure citizens' personal information remains private.

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