The Dark Side of Wearables and Smart Home Devices

We will guide you through all the potential security risks of wearables and smart home devices, along with ways to better protect yourself and your personal data.

Table of Contents:

Are There Any Privacy Issues Raised by Wearable Technology?

Do Wearable Devices Invade Consumer Privacy?

Are Smart Home Devices Invading Our Privacy?

How to Protect Smart Home Devices

Conclusion

What is the Easiest Way to Protect Wearables and Smart Home Devices from Security Risks?

One of the easiest ways to protect your devices is to ensure data transmission to the cloud is encrypted. Encryption grants you anonymity on any network and in any location. VPNs are a great way to encrypt your data. If you're looking into signing up for a VPN service, the vpncheck.org team has you covered with their reviews.

Are There any Privacy Issues Raised by Wearable Technology?

In an article by Varonis, there are a few reasons that wearable technology has some privacy issues:

First, the data can be sold to third parties.

The data is public by default.

Third, there are no regulations to protect medical information.

It is unclear who actually owns your data.

Can Wearable Technology’s Data be Sold to Third Parties?

The hard truth is that not enough regulations circulate around health monitoring devices, meaning that it is more common to see vague service agreements that subtly slide in a line about ‘we may share your information with third parties’, meaning that the information the device obtains on you can be shared around without your consent or knowledge.

Is Wearable Technology Public by Default?

Many companies have the option to allow their users to make their details and profiles public or private. However, it is often the case that these profiles are public by default, which means anyone can search up your results if you haven’t changed the default settings.

If you don’t want this kind of unprotected medical data publicized, double-check your settings and check your privacy to ‘not public’.

What is HIPAA Regulations?

Health data such as heartbeats, steps and sleep records are not considered to be under the PHI umbrella unless it is shared with a doctor or a hospital, which is why this type of data is not regulated under HIPAA. This may cause health data security risks, as there are next to no health regulations protecting users and their data.

Who Actually Owns Your Wearable Data?

The line between who owns your data - you or the third party taking record of your vitals - is blurred in varying degrees depending on the third party company. And as you are the one generating your own health data, it can be shocking to note that some companies have written in their policy that they don’t have a way for you to change or update your information.

To read more on wearables and privacy concerns, check out this article.

Do Wearable Devices Invade Consumer Privacy?

According to BBVA, companies are already in the process of taking on insurance contracts that will protect them from any privacy concerns their customers may have in the future from things such as having large amounts of data stolen and used to make a profit.

However, one of the largest concerns is the lack of basic security when it comes to transmitting to the cloud. Security consultant agencies have repeatedly warned about the ease of hacking these types of devices, as they are not as secure as a PC or a smartphone.

Third parties are also a cause for concern, making large sums of money off of user data from various sources. According to research, there are twelve main types of data that are collected from multiple sources by these types of companies, such as:

Identifying information, such as a name and an address.

Sensitive information, such as a driver’s license number.

Demographic information, such as gender, race, and employment.

Public record information, such as bankruptcies and marriage licenses.

Social Media information, such as purchases, how much is it used, how much influence the user has.

Household information, such as mortgages and credit card interest rates.

Interests information, such as what the user is subscribed to, what they like to wear and watch, and their music and genre preferences.

Finances, such as net worth and purchasing power.

Vehicle information, such as brand preference, and if the user is more likely to buy a new or used vehicle.

Travel information, such as preferred vacation places and highest price paid for.

Purchasing information, such as the amount spent on goods and buying activity.

Health information, such as allergies, prescriptions and brand preference.

To read more about if wearables invade consumer privacy, check out this article here.

Are Smart Home Devices Invading Our Privacy?

According to SmartHomeChief, there is a risk in smart homes as so many voices, videos and images are recorded throughout the day and stored in a server that can be moderately easily hacked if there is a risk in the chain.

Smart home devices also never stop listening unless they are powered off and unplugged, meaning they can pick up on a range of sensitive data such as frequency of usage, behaviors and preferences.

To learn more, check out this article.

How to Protect Smart Home Devices

According to WeForum, the best way to protect your smart home devices, byond just using a VPN, is the following:

Use an ethernet connection instead of Wifi.

Utilize strong and unique passwords for every account and login.

Change the name of your wifi network so it is no longer the default.

Utilize 2-step verification.

Ensure all your devices are updated and are turned off when not in use.

Ensure the device is completely set-up whenever you use a device for the first time.

Avoid poor quality wearables and smart home devices.

To read more about protecting your wearables and smart home devices, read this article here.

Conclusion

Despite the convenience of smart devices and wearables, there are some privacy risks to be aware of. The best way to keep yourself safe is, of course, using a VPN to mask your data, until more regulations are created to better protect users and their data.