Kaspersky Lab and WISekey have partnered to strengthen protection for wearable devices as their use for mobile and wireless payments the world by storm. However, as wearables crowd the tech market, cyber attacks will affect many people in the world.
According to a research, smart watches, fitness trackers and payment wristbands are expected to account for one in five mobile payment transactions by 2020 which is comparative to $500 billion a year. As a result cyber attacks will increase making every user a target.
Kaspersky Lab and WISekey announced that they are developing technology that will deeply integrate authentication and data encryption into new wearable devices, enabling them to safely connect, communicate and exchange financial data.
With the growth of Internet of Things, connected devices are set to place the commercial landscape on another level. Tech companies like Samsung encompass artificial intelligence in most of their gadgets which is good but the side effects may be countless.
Speaking at the launch of Samsung Gear S2, Simon Kariithi said,” the Samsung Gear S2 is a smart wearable that promises to become a meaningful part of our customers’ lives. The device is symbolic of Samsung’s philosophy to push forward, embrace and explore new frontiers of technology. For us, the circle was at the center of the Samsung Gear S2’s simple and practical design. Users can use the bezel to scroll through messages, navigate through apps, check out reviews of nearby restaurants, catch the latest football scores and zoom in and out of maps.”
On the flip side, these devices do not protect the shared data from one device to another. The experts believe that the vulnerability will increase the day people will start using the devices to make payments.
Premium watch manufacturers, such as Bulgari, already integrate WISeKey’s patented security software, WIS.WATCH into their connected watches. This enables a customer to securely identify and authenticate their device, to connect it to other devices such as their smartphone and to access applications, personal data and secure cloud storage.
Under the new partnership, Kaspersky Lab’s secure software development kit for mobile devices will be included in this solution, adding a further layer of security and paving the way for ultra-secure mobile payments.
“This cooperation between WISeKey and Kaspersky Lab represents a breakthrough in IoT cyber-security. The combination of trust and convenience that will be delivered to wearable devices opens the door to implementations in other sectors, where the same approach can support a variety of other IoT applications,” said Carlos Moreira, CEO of WISeKey.
“We live in a truly connected world. But as the number of connected devices continues to grow, so does the number of threats. And unfortunately there are millions of devices in active use today that were never designed to be secure. But security should be built-in from the very outset. There’s an urgent need to establish and implement higher levels of security for IoT devices, and we’re happy to work with WISeKey in the development of such a solution.” Eugene Kaspersky chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, said.
