Violation of User Privacy by IPTV Packet Sniffing in Home Network

The aim of this paper is to determine the possibility of learning about and the quantity of collected information about the habits of users of Internet Protocol television (IPTV) in Croatia on the basis of unauthorised monitoring of the IPTV traffic in the users' home network. The experimental part of the presented work includes collecting IPTV traffic in home networks of IPTV users of the two largest electronic communications operators in Croatia while preforming ordinary user activities (initiating the Set Top Box (STB) devices, switching TV channels, using EPG, program recording, using video on demand etc.). The paper does not explore the possibility and the manner of achieving the unauthorised access to the users' home network itself; instead, it is assumed that it has already been obtained. Based on the gathered data, each user's action is analysed from the aspect of indicating users' behavioral habits and the violation of their privacy. The results of the conducted analysis presented in the paper provide an overview of gathered information and some concluding remarks regarding the possibility of violation of privacy by IPTV traffic sniffing in the user's home network.