Do Wearable Devices possess Security Threat?
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Wearable devices aren’t relatively as everywhere as smart phones yet. But, IDC forecast shows that the wearables market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 45 percent by 2019. In wearable devices, fitness bands are the trendiest at the moment, but smart watches and other technologies are likely to boost over the next few years. We can also expect wearables to play a game changing role in health care and other fields. The rapid growth of wearables, of course, means more devices connecting to the company network, increasing security risks.
Wearables tend to get loads of attention when new products launches. But this device sector continues to grow at a steady speed. The wearable devices signify some attractive opportunities for businesses to increase efficiency and gather data, but in the rush to conquer the market we are neglecting the security threats that it possess. Here are some potential threats that are increased due to improper security strategies implemented for wearable devices:
Network Connectivity:
Wearable devices are in general needed to be connected to a Smartphone, tablet or computer. So they somehow would be required to be plugged into a corporate laptop or desktop through a USB port, which ultimately leverage the chance of viruses or malware to get into the company's system. These devices could work as a backdoor to the company's network infrastructure, this gives hackers an opportunity to download corporate confidential information, remotely control the wearable, or allow unauthorized access.
Remote Recording:
Everything that an insider can perform with cameras and microphones can be done by a hacker if malware is installed to some remote device (wearable devices). The world has already witnessed this kind of recording capability built into Smartphone malware packages, and it’s not a stretch to imagine it will be incorporated into malware for wearable devices when that type of malware starts to appear in the wild.
Vulnerable Apps:
It is the need for ventures to only allow the use of wearable devices that have secure and hardened application code that also uses advanced key safety procedures. This is significant in order to defend against reverse-engineering and altering of an application's code. Without such protections and safety procedures, applications on the wearable devices could be easily used against us to harm or spy on our personal information, steal sensitive corporate data, or do other despicable things.
Smartphone Data Access:
Wearables are connected to the Smartphone and the information it carries, which is also connected to corporate email and other sensitive systems. So, a single breach to wearable device may lead to breach in multiple aspects. These devices thus present all of the equivalent risks of data loss that a Smartphone already possess, including adding an additional vector for malware to penetrate a network, allowing attackers to capture two-factor authentication codes for the intentions of financial fraud, or just spying on the confidential communications that occurs via email.
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BYOD Policies:
Many BYOD policies don’t comprise of wearables yet. That means there is an incapability to manage and monitor these devices in the same way an IT department would a Smartphone, tablet or laptop. Lacking of having some sort of policy for wearables, IT teams may have near to zero control over whether the user has any type of verification or other security features enabled on the wearable device. Moreover, IT generally cannot wipe any sensitive data cached on the devices remotely if they are lost or stolen.
These devices increase the attack surface and could become vulnerable targets that could allow unauthorized access to an enterprise's sensitive information. Defining tight enterprise security policies for the use of wearables and their access to corporate data is essential.
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