Fitbit health trackers may be hackable in 10 seconds
Fitbit is one of the more popular "wearable" health monitoring companies globally, with shares trading on the NYSE (FIT:US) and a market value of US$7.6bn at close yesterday. Earlier this month a Fortinet researcher demonstrated that not only could the wristbands potentially be hacked in less than ten seconds, the malware could also then be passed back up to the wearer's computer via the Bluetooth link. While the demonstration was admittedly just a proof-of-concept demonstration, made in Budapest: it is the first example of "wearable malware" to date. The vulnerability was reported to the manufacturer in March, however no action has been taken by the company to fix the issue yet, as it stated the vulnerability is "theoretical". Fitbit shares started trading on the NYSE in June of this year.

 

Fitbit signs and traders at the NYSE during their IPO, June 18, 2015.

Shares of wearables maker Fitbit opened up more than 20 percent on Monday.

The move up comes four days after the company, which is valued at $4.1 billion, opened 52 percent above its IPO price at $30.40.

Fitbit had priced its initial public offering at $20 a share on Wednesday.



Nevertheless, while the company's stock has been performing well since going public, it is is competing in an increasingly crowded market, with rivals like Apple , Garmin , and Jawbone competing for a piece of the lucrative space.

Fitbit CEO James Park told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" ahead of the IPO on Thursday that he believes his company can stay competitive even as Apple and other electronics makers ramp up marketing for all-purpose wearables like the Apple Watch.

"There's over $200 billion of consumer spending on health and fitness. This is a massive market. There's room for more than one dominant player," he said. "The brand Fitbit is really synonymous with health and fitness tracking, so we feel that we have really significant competitive differentiators in the market."