How cyber hackers could use our Fitbits to hold us to ransom

From smartphones to fitness trackers, gadgets can now chronicle every moment of our lives.

But the rising popularity of such devices is leaving us wide open to blackmail and fraud, security chiefs warned last night.

Experts said the swathes of intimate information is a gift for hackers, and suggested it is almost inevitable that criminal gangs will move from targeting big businesses to individuals.

Cyber crooks could steal personal pictures, videos and other sensitive information and use them to hold people to ransom. Private details could also be used to impersonate victims and empty their bank accounts or seize their assets.

The worrying findings were highlighted in a joint report by the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency.

Senior figures are concerned the rise of internet- connected devices, from toasters to fridges, is opening the door to ‘aggressive’ and ‘confrontational’ hackers using ‘ransomware’ – attacking computer programmes that are covertly installed on a device in order to acquire ransomable information.

The warning comes after leaked doc- uments last week revealed how the CIA monitored suspects by hacking into Samsung TVs and turning them into listening devices.

The report said: ‘This data may not be inherently valuable, and might not be sold on criminal forums but the device and data will be sufficiently valuable to the victim that they will be willing to pay for it.

‘ransomware on connected watches, fitness trackers and TVs will present a challenge to manufacturers.’

The study notes that smart devices are still ‘inherently more difficult’ to attack than traditional computers, but warned that cyber attacks will continue to evolve.