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In the Age of Covid: Do Wearable Devices Have the Security and Data Privacy to Protect You?

rscasny

Since the arrival of COVID19, I have quickly seen product designers and companies pivot their interest from general fitness to tracing and tracking solutions via a wearable device. In one way, tit is remarkable how quickly the technology industry has adapted to changing conditions and a nasty disease that doesn't want to go away.

 

Wearable devices are getting to be more powerful and their functionality is skyrocketing.

 

My concern is that while they can be very effective as a health monitor or tracking, tracing and social distancing/proximity solution, is today's generation of wearable wrist or pendant devices up to the task as far as security and data protection. While data maybe stored on the device itself, at some point it will be sent out to a web server and the greater world where risks lurk everywhere.

 

What do you think?

  • Somewhat, yes.

     

    The new apple watch series 6 has a built in pulse oximeter, which links to the Apple Health app on an iPhone.

     

    I'm pretty sure thatconnection is quite secure, as Apple likes to make their own technolgy to transfer data (think AirPort wireless technology and AirDrop.)

     

    However, if you buy a 30 dollar watch from amazon, are you really sure it's even encrypted?

     

    Hackster has a contest, it's for designing smart connected medical solutions.

     

    My entry for hardware was a connected watch.

     

    Connected to AWS or Google Cloud.

     

    Think about it, is it actually secure?

     

    As long as data does not stay local, there is always a chance of it going into the wrong hands.

     

    Due to that, I'm considering withdrawing, (also especially when the Pi challengers are announced)

  • Everything has risks. For those that think about it, it is just a risk versus reward choice. For those that don't think about it, there are lots of people in the same boat, so they are putting their faith in the wisdom of their shipmates or the motives and skill of the service providers. This is probably also true of those that think about it and still opt in, because it is highly unlikely anyone could make an accurate assessment of the risk.

    It is absolutely true that anything you do online can be monitored and tracked and analyzed and stolen and used and abused. The internet still provides more benefits than drawbacks, but the question starts to emerge at where the "too invasive" line is that would turn people off.... Or will the benefits continue to increase at a faster pace than the drawbacks?

  • The converse also applies... if an anonymous company is monitoring your data then they should not always assume that the data they are viewing is telling them the true story...

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPVA63MaegA

  • I see security as a major issue for all wearable devices.

    You can never know for sure who will get access and at what level.

     

    Yes I am paranoid, but having worked in secure environments for most of my career, you learn to spot security issues quickly and be aware when your data is not safe.

     

    DAB

  • I'm speaking anecdotal now but, when I worked in IT Security in 2018, assessing security requirements, security was bolted on and rarely built in. Through education we had hoped to get developers to design with security in mind and not try to make it work as an after thought.

     

    I look at products to meet the demands of COVID-19 with trepidation. A contact tracing app is a great tool and would improves results but, the ramifications of all the data and how it can be misused is mind boggling.

     

    I speak from the cuff when I say, I'm not confident a vendor trying to get a product to market to meet the current demands has flagged security as a priority. I may be wrong but the trend I have seen just doesn't give me that comfort factor.