ARN

Wearable devices security must be stepped up: Centrify

More than two thirds of wearable owners use no login protection

Unmanaged, unsecure wearables are quickly becoming a new vulnerability for enterprises, according to Centrify.

The cyber-security company recently conducted a survey revealing 69 per cent of wearable device owners forego login credentials to access their devices.

Additionally, 56 per cent of survey respondents said they use their devices to access business apps like Slack, Dropbox, Salesforce, Google Docs and Microsoft Office.

Results found 42 per cent of wearable owners cite identity theft as their top security concern, 34 per cent said a lack of IT management and device control and 22 per cent cited a general increase in breaches of sensitive work data or information.

“As wearables become more common in the enterprise, IT departments must take serious steps to protect them as carefully as they do laptops and smartphones,” said Centrify vice president of product strategy, David McNeely.

“Wearables are deceptively private. Owners may feel that due to their ongoing proximity to the body, they’re less likely to fall into the wrong hands. However, hackers don’t need to take physical possession of a device in order to exploit a hole in security. The best news is that solutions already exist that can easily wrap wearables into the identity management picture,” McNeely continued.