Are Smartwatches Threat To Our Privacy And Security?

In this digital world, it has become even more crucial to be worried about our personal privacy and security, especially when it comes to smart devices and electronics. It is true that smart devices make our lives very simple and easy, but these devices also pose threat to our important and personal data.

We store a lot of sensitive data on our Smartphones and Tablets, which we carry everywhere with us. As these devices are most of the time connected to the internet, it can cause serious security and privacy issues. All the apps on our Smartphones today access almost all the information available on it. Be it Facebook, Twitter, Google or others – all of them collect lots of personal data, which are then used across various platforms, causing serious issues when it comes to privacy.

After Desktops, Laptops, Tablets & Smartphones, it’s time for Smartwatches, which will now be worn by many and used in a similar way as a Smartphone. Apart from being convenient, Smartwatches can also expose us to a whole new kind of security threat and make our sensitive information wide open to hackers. As these smart devices inter-operate with our phones, if hacked, it could allow attackers to access all our data available on our phones.

Moreover, recently, security researchers have found out that the data sent between a Smartwatch and an Android Smartphone is not secure and that attackers can easily monitor the data being transferred through brute force attack.

How does attackers hack Smartwatches?

Bluetooth connection:
The Bluetooth communication between most Smartwatches and Android devices for the purpose of transferring data, depend on a six-digit PIN code, which can be easily brute-forced by hackers to access our data.

On-Watch Software and Apps:
Some Smartwatches, like Pebble 2.0, requires you to download apps from its own app store. However, to use these apps on your Smartwatch, you must provide your username and password. And if at all these apps get hacked, which is quite possible, then it can put your account credentials in danger.

So, Is It Safe?
Any connected device is going to have security and privacy risks associated with it. Smartwatches do not have pins, passwords, biometric readers, or any other kind of screen lock. Be careful where you leave your watch when you are not wearing it.  Even if they are connected with our Smartphones or not, they will at some point be used to store or come in contact with sensitive personal information. Hence, always use security measures to protect yourself across devices. Ultimately, it is up to you to keep yourself secure.

How to be protected?

• Researchers say; to be protected from such attacks, use Near Field Communication (NFC) that allows you to safely transmit a PIN code to compatible Smartwatches when pairing with Blootooth.
• To enhance Bluetooth Security and have a secure pairing mechanism, augmenting Bluetooth encryption with a second layer of encryption is required. Augmentation will add more robustness and ensure increased security, as the attacker will be able to observe the number of sessions, but he will not be able to guess the number of transactions between the two devices.
• Another option for secure transfers is to use original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by Google as an alternative to make secure data transfers between devices.

About eScan: eScan, one of the leading Anti-Virus & Content Security solutions for Desktops & Servers is developed and marketed by MicroWorld. It is powered by innovative and futuristic technologies, such as MWL Technology, DIRC Technology, NILP Technology, and sophisticated Anti-Virus Heuristic Algorithms that not only provides protection from current threats, but also provides proactive protection against evolving threats.

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