Here are the most hackable gifts this holiday season

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Chances are, this holiday season there’s at least one connected device on your shopping or wish list. Intel Security has released a list of the top hackable devices and what buyers can do to stay safe.

Huawei Smartwatch

Smartwatches and fitness bands

With the sale of smartphones and tablets dying down, vendors have been making smartwaches and fitness trackers the latest must-buy gadget.

For hackers, wearables are a new avenue to the information stored on a smartphone, and several security vendors have identified vulnerabilities in these devices.

Read more: Security report finds DDoS attack-capable smartwatch among security vulnerabilities

DronesWS

Drones

One tends to think of drones as objects of high-tech target practice, but this can apply both in a physical and virtual sense.

Not only can drones be hacked into, they can be used by hackers during flight to capture both aerial views as well as personal information over open Wi-Fi networks, in essence extending a hacker’s geographic reach. One has to wonder whether those shooting down drones may be onto something.

Read more: Why you should be worried about IoT security even if you won’t buy into it

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Children’s gadgets

Few hacks reach, perhaps, the same level of creepiness as the incident involving hacked baby monitors, but it’s likely not the last of what will be many high-profile attacks on children’s products.

These products can range anywhere from social apps, to toys, to smart monitors, many of which are often unsecured.

Asus Wireless-AC5300 Tri-Band Gigabit Router

Tips

Hotspots:

While it should be common practice now, never conduct sensitive transactions over unsecured wireless hotspots and always make sure to access websites only over the the HTTPS protocol.

Always set a personalized password on a router. Hackers may have access to factory default ones that routers come with. Besides, personal ones are easier to remember.

Smartphone

Devices:

Users should only activate Bluetooth when using it, and leave it off otherwise. In any case, it should be protected by a strong password.

Otherwise, ensuring that every device has a security solution installed is a good step.

Lastly, when purchasing for gifts this holiday season, one should always be weary of take imposter websites, emails and receipts that try to trick users into entering their credentials. Be sure that any online shopping is done through legitimate websites.


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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Dave Yin
Dave Yin
Digital Staff Writer at Computer Dealer News, covering Canada's IT channel.

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