Is Wearable Technology Risky For The Enterprise?

Earlier this year, analyst firm Juniper Research predicted that wearable technology will account for $52 million in sales in 2014. Of that amount, Samsung projects that almost 40 percent of it will result from holiday sales.

Simply put, 20 million devices could fly off the shelves this holiday season.

But do these Internet of Things (IoT) devices under the Christmas tree pose a compounding problem for the enterprise in the New Year?

Here’s why they could:

• By 2017, 50 percent of businesses will require employees to bring and use their own phones and tablets in the workplace.
• As America aims to reach its New Year’s fitness resolutions, employers are integrating activity trackers into their wellness programs. A number that will jump from 200,000 in 2013 to 13 million in 2018.
• The speed to market of wearable devices means that products may have not been designed with security as their first priority. There are no security standards for connected devices and the IoT.
• Because these devices can be tracked through wireless protocol transmissions, significant privacy concerns exist for both the consumer and the enterprise.

Corporations must learn how to limit and protect themselves from an emergence of cyber threats that will arise from the thousands of new devices that will come through their doors beginning January 2 and beyond.

Currently, 53 percent of employees bring their IoT devices to work and connect them to the corporate network.

See the infographic below for more information: