Smartwatches, smart glasses and other wearable devices are becoming harder to separate from the technology businesses already regulate. They can display emails and calendars, record audio or video, connect with computers and, increasingly, use AI to process what their owners see. Gareth Edwards speaks to Tebogo Sibidla,
Director at Werksmans Attorneys, about whether the devices employees wear every day could be opening new gaps in company security.
The conversation moves beyond hacking to the less obvious risks around confidentiality, privacy and control. What happens when sensitive information flashes across a watch in public, smart glasses capture something inside the workplace, or company information is sent elsewhere for AI processing? Sibidla also considers POPIA, employee privacy and whether existing IT, AI and bring-your-own-device policies are keeping pace. The bigger question is simple: if wearables can increasingly do what phones and computers do, should companies still treat them like ordinary accessories?
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Chapter List
(00:00) Could A Smartwatch Put Your Company At Risk?
(00:56) The Hidden Risk In Wearable Technology
(02:16) How Wearables Can Threaten Company Networks
(03:39) AI, Smart Glasses And Where Your Data Goes
(05:47) POPIA And Wearable Technology At Work
(07:39) Do We Really Need New AI Laws?
(09:27) When A Smartwatch Exposes Confidential Information
(11:07) Employee Privacy Versus Company Security
(13:31) Smart Glasses, Recording And Consent
