Despite hack, security experts urge no fear of Google Glass

The security risk Google Glass poses to companies is no greater than smartphones or other technology that someone could use to secretly record video and snap pictures, experts say.

Google Glass and its potential security risks came under scrutiny with the recent jailbreaking of the headset that many see as the start of wearable computing as a mass market.

The model rooted by Android and iOS developer Jay Freeman was sold only to developers. Glass is not yet available to the general public.

Freeman cracked Glass in two hours by exploiting a well-known vulnerability in Android 4.0.4, the version of the operating system that ships with the device. Once in, Freeman was able to fully control the device, bypassing the security mechanisms put in place by Google. In general, tech-savvy people will jailbreak a device in order to run applications or to modify it in ways not allowed by the manufacturer.

The Glass break-in did not surprise Tim Bray, developer advocate for Google. “Yes, Glass is hackable. Duh,” he said on Twitter.

In an interview with Forbes, Freeman was not yet sure what he could do with the device now that he had access to its software. However, Jason Perlow, senior technology editor for ZDNet, opined that Glass could be modified to secretly record video and take pictures without the user knowing.

:story: PCWorld

Battery life is also not great. A person reading email and taking some pictures and short video could get roughly five hours, according to a review on Engadget. The maximum time would fall dramatically if someone took a lot of v