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Be Cautious of Wearable Technology

December 15, 2014

SC Magazine identified a report from security researchers at Bitdefender showing just how insecure communications with your wearable technology can be. The report explained their finding as “pretty consistent with [their] expectations” and that without a lot of effort, the bad guys can tap into the communication stream and decode the data for such things as text messages, chats and Facebook conversations. Specifically, they demonstrated the hack on a Samsung Gear Live smartwatch and a paired Google Nexus 4 device running Android L Preview.

The problem is the relatively weak Bluetooth encryption that is provided by the 6-digit PIN, which is fairly easy to brute force. Some methods to improve the security of the Bluetooth connection would be to use near field communication (NFC) to deliver the PIN code to the device. The use of passphrases is another alternative. No matter what, the manufacturers of the devices are the ones who need to improve the security of the wearable technology. If history is a guide, ease of use will take priority over security.

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