Apple Watch: No kill switch could make thieves rich

Lack of anti-theft protection will make the device more of a crime target

Security researchers have warned that the lack of a kill switch on the Apple Watch makes the device an attractive proposition for criminals looking to steal and resell them.

Apple's iPads and iPhones have the kill switch feature, which has apparently had a positive impact on cutting down device theft.

Its absence from the potentially very expensive timepiece has alarmed a community that knows just how many smartphones get stolen and sold on.

A video posted to YouTube by the iDownloadBlog (shown below) demonstrates how easy it is to reset and wipe an Apple Watch.

An accompanying blog post explains why this is a problem, saying that Apple has covered the personal security side but has not considered the impact of theft.

"Unlike the iPhone, if someone steals your Apple Watch, they can easily reset the device (bypass the passcode), and pair it with a new iPhone logged in to a different iCloud account," said the iDownloadBlog post.

"In other words, it's totally feasible to steal an Apple Watch and set it up on a different device as if you just purchased it from an Apple Store.

"It's not a security problem from a user data standpoint, but it is a security issue from a device theft standpoint. The fact that the Apple Watch lacks Activation Lock is an encouragement to thieves."

V3 asked Apple for a response to these claims, and was still awaiting a reply at the time of writing.

Security veteran Graham Cluley has expressed some disappointment at the apparent lack of the feature.

"The activation lock is an attractive feature in iOS, that has helped reduce the appeal of iPhones and iPads for thieves," he said.

"If the Apple Watch doesn't have a similar feature that's a real shame. Unlike an iPhone, a thief knows precisely where you keep your Apple Watch and will know that they are likely to make some decent cash if they sell it on to others."