Sofie Adie

Wearable devices have gained great popularity in the health and sports sectors. The technology has made it possible to collect accurate data even when we are asleep. However, it is important to take note of the fact that these devices can pose potential hacks and cybersecurity threats to users. The privacy concerns with wearable gadgets recently brought a lot of attention from the use of a fitness app by the US soldiers.

Actually, in a recent warning news post at wearable technologies conference website, the Department of Defense at Pentagon had to issue a directive prohibiting all US soldiers in warzone from using smartphones and wearables devices. The directive followed a hack to their wearables which gave their exact location thereby making them an easy target to attack in warzones. This is a typical example of a failure during the design stage where Strava didn’t foresee the potential threat that the health map had in exposing soldiers.

Why privacy is a major concern?

There various privacy concerns that have now come to the limelight about wearable devices. These are mainly attributed to the use of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth while connected them to mobile devices like smartphones on an unsecured network. Below are a few examples of security breaches that wearable technology can expose your private data.

The health and fitness sector has a profound use of the wearable technology with a 2018 Accenture research showing 20% and 17% young and old Americans respectively using the devices to collect health data. The health data such as heart rate, blood pressure, calories burnt and other data have come a long way to help detect health issues and aid early treatment. In spite of this, the data can potentially fall into the wrong hands owing to vague healthcare data protection policy. This means that health professionals can easily be compromised to share data with insurance companies for malicious use.

Additionally, the wearables apps that usually come as a package with the devices and can easily be manipulated. This is attributed to the fact that most manufacturers pay little attention to the control panel that hosts these apps. Moreover, there are many cloned apps that in a way can make it a challenge for the user to differentiate between authentic and spam. This means that one can easily download and install a bug that can access other personal data such as bank emails. As if this is not enough, the authentic apps can also be hacked to input incorrect health data that can misguide the user.

Another potential area where wearable devices can expose private information to the public is the use of a wearable camera. The rising market factor attributing to a rise in the use of wearable cam as claimed by the Market Match include; growing demand in outdoor tourism and sports activities, and cutting edge technology that makes cam very tiny and not easy to detect. This being said, don’t be surprised seeing yourself or your loved ones trending on social platforms in case you get captured unawares. The images can as also be captured in compromising position and which can later be used as potential blackmail threats at your workplace or with your loved ones.

Looking at sports wearables ranging from shoes to smartwatches, most of them rely on GPS and Wi-Fi to collect real-time data. This is actually good since the technology captures metric data like the distance covered, pace and speed where such will later be analyzed to improve performance. Moreover, the GPS technology helps you keep track of running direction and keeps your coach and loved one posted of your whereabouts. Despite the good that comes with sports wearables, these can easily be accessed by other 3^rd parties to monitor your movements and plan possibly anything to meet their ill motives.

So what can be done to avert privacy hacks in wearable technology?

Having discussed the above loopholes in wearable technology, this is not to say that we completely avoid using them since there are always solutions that we can input to secure wearable privacy. These measures include but not limited to ensuring good investment in quality wearable gadgets that comes with proper security integrity features. Where your shops is also another factor since it is very easy to get counterfeit products in cheap stores. For instance, if you searching for the Apple watch, research on where the store gets their supplies and run a scan code to verify authenticity. Concerning health data shared with your physician, it is important that you run a background check on him before you can finally trust him with your health data and lastly but not least, ensure you are connected to a secured connection to prevent illegal hacking.

For this to work, wearable makers should caution their customers of privacy threats that come with using wearable technology and inform them on what they need to do or not to prevent unintentional use that may expose them.

The bottom line

Even with the above recommendation, the most important changes that will see a lot of improvement in preventing wearable privacy hacks should come from manufacturers. The wearable manufactures should conduct a security risk assessment to determine potential privacy threats that can arise from their various products. Based on the findings, they should then design a security system that will serve to protect users security during the design stage and subject it to through tests before they finally release it to the market.

Alhamdulillah masih dipertemukan lagi dengan Ramadhan yang ke-27. Walaupun aku tidaklah puasa seawal umur 1 tahun, boleh jadi ini baru ramadhan yang ke-15 aku secara serius. Mana tau puasa zaman sekolah rendah dulu banyak sangat cilok puasanya (yok-yok tengahari buka periuk....)

The best thing about Ramadhan is, buka puasa, teraweh, stay up malam hari tak kisah demi siapkan tugasan ataupun qiamullail..tapi ianya sangatlah puas hati. Dalam tiga tahun menyambut puasa dekat Shah Alam, ini adalah kali pertama aku menyambut puasa macam normal student. Kalau tidak, berkejaran nak layan customer.

Rindu jugaklah nak alami situasi tu. Penat yang seronok sebab kau yakin yang kau akan ada duit untuk berfoya dikemudian hari. Tapi sekarang lagi seronok, walaupun miskin, kau punya waktu untuk teraweh. Dah lama giler tak teraweh. Last teraweh penuh sepanang Ramadhan adalah 2010. Mana pergi yang 9 tahun tu pun aku tak tahu. Betapa tidak menghargai Ramadhan lah aku ni.

Dan bila dapat kembali merasa Ramadhan itu secara...secara apa ha nak cakap...secara hormatnya, dapat dirasa ketenangan itu. Tiba-tiba rasa teraweh itu singkat...Ramadhan itu sekejap dan rasa sangat sedih bila dapat tahu yang sekarang ni dah hampir ke pertengahan Ramadhan.

Aku pun tak pasti teraweh dengan ejaan tarawih atau teraweeh atau terawih...tapi yang pasti ia adalah solat sunat yang menjadi kegemaran sekarang. Ketenangan itu memang benar wujud dalam solat....Islam. Ah, dah lama sangat terasa abaikan Islam, syariat, kenal balik agama sendiri...jatuh cinta semula dengan keindahan yang diperjuangkan oleh mereka. Rasul Nabi, sahabat, para salafusoleh terdahulu...

Bak kata Lia; "Sejak dewasa ni, teraweh tu macam sekejap sangat. Sedar-sedar dah habis witir..."

Yup...feel you bruh...

So, masih belum terlambat untuk bercinta dengan Ramadhan tahun ini. I heart Ramadhan forever. InsyaAllah. Bagi peluang untuk diri bercinta dengan keindahan Islam itu sendiri...Awaluddin maa'rifatullah dan selamanya Islam lahir dan batin. Amiin!

p/s: benda paling best bila dapat tengok kemeriahan masjid di semua tempat....

 

Banyak peluang selalu tersasar bila kita mula perasan selepas kehilangannya. Macam mana kita tahu yang kita telah guna setiap peluang itu sebaiknya?

Cerita dia, hidup.

Hiduplah sepenuh hati seolah kau akan mati tak lama lagi. Kau suka orang, cakaplah dekat dia...sebab memang betul, setiap malang itu tak pernah punya bau. Aku suka orang. Ramai sangat! Tapi satu pun aku tak pernah luah secara lisan. Sebab? Aku takut rejection. Tapi sampai bila?

Dan selepas menerima sejuta kata nasihat dari mereka yang lebih berpengalaman, aku mula terfikir. Yang hidup ni memang simple. Terlalu simple. Dan yang menyukarkan ia adalah kita. Aku sendiri. Haa...baru kau sedar...selama ni kau seorang yang berkepentingan dan tidaklah seperti yang kau harapkan ianya menjadi.

Bersempena Ramadhan mubaraq 1440H ni, aku telah diberi peluang untuk kembali ke pangkal jalan. Hidup pijak duri ni kadang ada pros and cons yang tersendiri. Berbalik pada apa definisi duri kau tadi.

Mungkin duri itu adalah suatu pengajaran dan boleh jadi ia adalah satu kenikmatan sementara. Wallahua'lam. Rahsia tafsiran itu terpulang pada kita dan hanya Dia yang tahu setiap atom analisa hambaNya.

Ramadhan ni banyak celikkan hati yang buta...buat kita sedar yang hidup bukan sekadar untuk meraih people pleasant. Tapi lebih kepada redha Ilahi. Amboiii...kau kalau ceramah orang nombor satu kan?

Yup! Sebab aku dimasa hadapan barangkali akan belek entri tu untuk dijadi pedoman. Mungkin aku itu perlukan ia lebih dari aku yang sekarang.

Dearest whoever has read this entry and all of other entries...I just want to let you know that...I appreciate all of our memories together. Maybe you don't realize because I never tell you...but honestly...your name permanently carve in my diaries...and also my heart....most importantly...our name always together in the Doa.

Jadi...setiap orang menghargai peluang bukan sekadar terkesan pada perbuatan. Ia juga boleh melalui lisan, perkataan dan pemerhatian. (Harfiah, feeliah dan syuuriah)

Okays, since aku pun terpaksa update entri melalui fon (and it's really hard to wrote it), aku akhiri entry dengan salam Ramadhan.

P/s: mungkin aku hargai orang itu dengan tidak menyimpan segala barang dan lebih kepada menulis setiap cerita mengenainya.....

Macam biasa bila wujudnya internet, aku akan update satu entri mengenai status kehidupan aku sekarang sebelum memulakan kerja-kerja akademiah ini. Malas nak cerita panjang, aku summarizekan dalam bentuk point bullet dimana ianya lebih senang untuk aku tidak berbunga bahasa.

• 12 April - Tengok Shazam dengan lagak thesis dah sempurna, walhal haprak tak siap!
  
  
  
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          • Hati ni tisu sangat ke bila menangis tengok Shazam? T^T
          
          
          
          
        
        
        
        
      
      
      • Terjebak dengan Absolute foodfest O_O God! I really allergic with crowded space
      
      
      • Kehilangan yang menakutkan - Wifi- mula buat hal
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 13 April - Pasai tak puas hati, pergi lagi ke foodfest dan kutip data untuk thesis yang tak sudah-sudah


• 14 April - Call Maxis untuk aduan mengenai masalah yang melanda
  
  
  
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      • Tapi gua tak kisah, pasai tengah ralit marathon Marvel movies (dengan total 22 movies)
      
      
      • Of course lepas siapkan thesis kita layan marathon back-to-back
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 18 April - Advance booking untuk Endgame.


• 19 April - Seminggu tanpa Wifi, hidup boleh tahan haru jugak rupanya
  
  
  
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      • Adakah aku sudah berjangkit dengan penyakit kemodenan?
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 24 April - This is it! The day has arrived.
  
  
  
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      • This is it huh? God! I really need to re-watch this movie!!!!
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 25 April - Join briefing dari SSM.


• Lalalala - Minggu yang sangat santai, demi nak move on dari Endgame, aku layan Starwars.


• 28 April - Attend kursus Kad Hijau.


• 29 April - Argh!!! Jiwa kacau, kena rewatch!


• 30 April - Deng it! Why am I still crying even dah tahu ending?
  
  
  
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      • Maxis bagitau, rupanya cable internet block aku dari level 8-17 kena curi!
      
      
      • Hantu punya kabel!!!
      
      
      • What on earth orang masih lagi punya tabiat mencuri?
      
      
      • Mungkin sebab masih nama dunia, istilah curi tak akan pernah terpadam sampai bila-bila
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

So, itulah dia cerita yang menyebabkan aku hilang tanpa khabar. Itu baru tiga minggu, kalau lima tahun hilang sebab terkena tempiasan populasi yang dilesapkan oleh Thanos macam mana?

God! Endgame really awesome!!!!!!  Adios!

p/s: Free fall - illenium

p.p/s: Mood nak review Endgame dan Shazam kelaut.