I need your clothes, your boots, and your WEARABLE: Wearable Security

By: Jimmy Tristovski – Recruitment Specialist

Wearables; something that was only in James Bond and Science Fiction movies decades ago is now in transition to being engraved in our personal and professional daily lives. Within the next year or so, wearable technology is set to take off. Similar to when smartphones made a dynamic entry into the market, wearables are now casually being used throughout the office by employees. This new era will surely be accelerated when the large tech corporations introduce their latest and greatest. There is however a major issue that still hovers over this industry like a dark cloud… and that is security.

New research conducted by Trend Micro and Vanson Bourne  gauged business readiness for wearable devices and 61% of technology decision makers said their organization is encouraging the use of wearables.  Similarly, 60% of organizations recognized the fact that they have already implemented, started to implement, or are interested in implementing wearables. Reasons for implementing the use of wearables vary, but the top include (in order): Productivity, BYOD programs, well-being programs, and business insurance programs.

As wearables inevitably become more advanced and urbane in their functionality, businesses will naturally allow access to corporate files and networks. With over 75% of corporations allowing employees to access corporate data via personal mobile devices, the connection of wearables to corporate networks poses new security threats for information technology managers and security experts.

Although there are many corporate security risks in the future of wearables, there are also many personal risks. If we take the simple example of a fitness tracker, much of our sensitive data (such as personal identifiable information, health data, etc.) is vulnerable when data transfers occur and are stored. This is an issue that needs to be addressed before a major security breach happens. Should we be forcing app manufacturers to build applications with security as a top priority in mind, or should we completely limit how much data they can collect. Maybe the question remains: “Are we just becoming too lazy as a society and depending on technology too much?”

You be the judge.