Smartwatch manufacturers are failing to secure sensitive data on their devices, warned a Trend Micro report.
The IT security firm said that smartwatches running Google’s Android Wear and even the Apple Watch are not as secure as they should be.
The research looked at devices from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, LG, Sony, Asus and Pebble to see how they fared when it came to physical and information security.
The devices were updated to the latest operating system for the study and was paired with a related smartphone, such as an iPhone 5, Motorola X or Nexus 5.
Trend Micro said that physical device protection across all smartwatches was found to be poor, with no authentication via passwords or other means being enabled by default.
“This would enable free access if the wearable was stolen. All devices apart from the Apple Watch failed to contain a timeout function, meaning that passwords had to be activated by manually clicking a button,” the report said.
It said the Apple Watch did better than Android or Pebble rivals, but contained the largest volume of sensitive data, so could potentially give away a lot of detail about the owner if stolen.
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