Your Apple Watch could be putting your company at risk

Most people don’t think the little watch on their wrist could cause any harm to their company. However, new technology has made you and your company more vulnerable and susceptible to attacks. The Apple watch and other wearables are just as susceptible to hackers as an iPhone or other mobile devices s hackers continue to develop methods to infiltrate new devices.

Some security issues that arise from the Apple Watch and other wearables are insufficient user authentication, lack of transport encryption, insecure interfaces, insecure firmware, location tracking, wireless networking, and other privacy concerns. The biggest and most

Apple watches enable payment through Apple Pay, which connects to an iPhone. Apple Pay has had some fraudulent issues already concerning card authentication, and those will just continue to expand the use of the Apple Watch.

Communications between smartphone and smartwatch are easily intercepted. Once a hacker can tap into your watch, they have a straight path to your phone.

What steps should your company be taking to ensure security?

• The first thing you and your company need to do is update your BYOD policies include smartwatches and wearable devices.
• Ensure TLS implementations are configured and implemented properly
• Keep your passwords secure
• Implement controls to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks
• Build mobile applications (unique to each ecosystem) into the device – in addition to any vendor-provided or recommended apps
• Focus on the security of applications – they can be more dangerous than the watch itself

This doesn’t mean you need to ban wearables or stop using yours immediately. It just means you and your organization need to be aware of the potential threats that are entering your office and take the necessary precautions to protect your company.