Elain Brown Tech 07.11.2022 23:Jul PM EDT

Can Smartwatches be Hacked? Here's How to Protect Your Data

Smartwatches have become increasingly popular these days.

It is one of the products of technological advancements, a byproduct of IoT, the internet of things.

Smartwatches have become such a wearable tech device that has helped us and a plethora of users around the world to help improve our life and the efficiency of how we do things.

There are multiple smartwatches in the market, a lot of them come in different shapes, sizes, colors, forms, and address different needs for different customers.

The most popular ones nowadays have been fitness trackers. We now have available smartwatches that help us with our fitness journey by tracking our steps, monitoring our heart rate, monitoring our sleep, and many more.

There are also other watches designed to give us easy access to messaging, both receiving and sending messages to people and things that are important to us.

Can Smartwatches Be Hacked?

However, just like any IoT device, these watches are also at the risk of being vulnerable to cyberattacks.

As a result of the continued expansion of IoT, the gadgets in question will become increasingly susceptible to cyberattacks. The smart connectivity of different gadgets have gotten simpler as a result of the ability of various gadgets to connect with one another.

However, because of the value of this data interchange, it will inevitably become a target for cybercriminals. There is no denying the fact that the security of smartwatches does have flaws.

According to Kaspersky, there have already been some recorded attempts at assault made against these devices. But even though there haven't been many major breaches with smartwatches yet.

Companies employ security experts to help them design and develop a device that secures the data of its user. On the other hand, some white hat hackers are also in coordination with these companies to help businesses strengthen their product and help in security gaps.

How to Protect Your Smartwatch

Here are some of the ways and recommendations you can do to make your smartwatches secure, according to NordVPN.

Update Your Smartwatch

There's a good reason why developers release updates for their products: they address known flaws, add new features, and improve security.

Even though it's tempting to put off updates, doing so could end up costing you a significant amount more in the long run.

Hackers are constantly searching for vulnerabilities, and software engineers work hard to keep their products secure for users to use.

Use a Strong Password

Just like any account you have on the internet, having a strong password will help you secure your own data. It is recommended not to use easy passwords just like 12345 or abcdefg.

Having a strong password will help you protect your device from being breached by malicious threat actors. It is recommended to create password characters that use both letters and numbers with capital and lower-case letters.

Two-factor Authentication

To add another layer of security to your device, adding another layer of security through the two-factor authentication will be more advantageous to you.

It safeguards your account from people trying to breach your security. When you enable a feature, in order to log in, you will be required to enter a security code that was either texted to you or generated by an authentication app.

Select a Trusted Brand

It is very important to use brands that are reputable in their field. Brands that you know are in touch with their customers and know the responsibility of making sure that their devices need to be safe.

It is also best to look into privacy policies and warranty policies, and research if they ever release updates.