Holidays are a great time to bring technology to your loved ones. One of the most popular smart devices of each of the last few years is the smart watch. While they are extremely useful and make great gifts, they can have an effect on an organization’s cyber security. Let’s take a look at some of the potential threats smartwatch can present to IT administrators.
Smartwatch personal data protection
A smartwatch can do a lot of things for a person, and for the most part, it’s not too expensive for what it is. This makes them a very popular gift. However, they are known to cause problems for both users and businesses. In fact, most of the smartwatches that have been tested had some kind of vulnerability. Some will transfer data unencrypted, some have built-in issues with encrypting your device, and some are just plain insecure.
While many of these vulnerabilities are not typically combined to present immediate privacy and security, the amount of personal data each device has after a period of use can present problems for users and businesses. This is why if you plan to use one of these devices on a regular basis, you need to understand that you may need to change the way you do certain things to make sure your data is not leaked.
Here are some tips:
Never use unofficial apps – Users sometimes “jailbreak” a device to give them access to apps that they normally wouldn’t have access to. This can exacerbate the already flimsy security surrounding your smartphone. Get your apps only from the official Google Play store, or from the Apple app store, or from the smartwatch manufacturer.
Don’t jailbreak your phone: If you want to use a smartwatch, connecting with your smartphone powers the services it uses. For this purpose, you should not pair a smartwatch with a jailbroken phone, as it increases its risk.
Don’t connect devices directly to your watch: Since there are built-in vulnerabilities for many watches, it is important to choose options that prioritize security. If your plan is to use your watch as a hub to control your other smart devices, reconsider the lack of encryption can be a very direct avenue for hackers to expose it.
Keep your smartwatch’s operating system and other apps up-to-date: Like any other network-connected software, updating security regularly (or at least making sure it is updated regularly) is a great way to make sure you’re doing everything. possible to keep you safe while using this helpful technology.
Smartwatch risk for business
Chances are, your company is already prepared to deal with the influx of these smart devices because it has had to protect itself from having its employees bring their mobile devices for years. That strategy, generally called BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device, was implemented because organizations were seeing problems with the security of their data as a result of employee access to network resources. The same strategy will help you manage the growing number of computer terminals that seek to access your network directly or through a mobile device (as many smart watches do).
By extending your BYOD strategy to a BYOIoT (Bring Your Own Internet of Things) strategy, not only do you have the coverage you need to keep threats out of your organization’s network, but you also have the solutions to scale that platform like your employees. Planning to bring in additional smart devices, securing endpoints, and monitoring data flow will be important strategies to consider in the days and years to come.
If you want to learn more about how smart watches work and how you should account for their presence, even if they don’t seem like a big threat, call the IT experts at ALGINFORMATICA. As a Valencia computer consultant and Valencia computer services. We can help you put together BYOD and BYOIoT strategies that can ensure that you can maintain security while also accessing the IoT devices that your staff may bring into the office.
