Quote:Accelerometer and gyroscope signals can reveal a lot more about users than they think, suggests Kaspersky research

Users of smart watches and other wearables have been warned that the data they transmit could be used to build 'behaviourial profiles' of them, identifying who they are and even their credit card PINs.

Smartwatches and other wearables could be used to spy on their owners by collecting accelerometer and gyroscope signals that, after analysis, could be turned into datasets unique to the smartwatch owner, the security software company warns. These datasets, if misused, enable the user's activities to be monitored, including the entering of sensitive information.

Using mathematical algorithms available to the wearable's built-in compute power, Kaspersky claims that it is possible to identify behavioural patterns, periods of time when - and where - users are moving, and for how long.

It was also possible to identify sensitive user activities, including entering a passphrase on the computer with an accuracy of up to 96 per cent, entering a PIN code at the ATM (approximately 87 per cent) and unlocking a mobile phone (approximately 64 per cent).