China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has banned wearable gadgets including smartwatches over cybersecurity fears.

The PLA considers smartwatches and other wearable tech as potential channels of military leak. Thus, the Chinese army is doing its best to boost cybersecurity and prevent military secrets from being compromised by internationally-manufactured technology, state-run military newspaper Liberation Army Daily relayed.

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On May 10, the PLA published a warning via the Daily to announce the said ban on wearables, according to Quartz.

"The moment a soldier puts on a device that can record high-definition audio and video, take photos, and process and transmit data, it's very possible for him or her to be tracked or to reveal military secrets," the Daily said.

A PLA member, speaking under conditions of anonymity, confirmed the wearable ban to NBC News. The PLA started implementing the ban after a rookie soldier from Nanjing received a smartwatch from his girlfriend and used it to snap photos of his companions, according to The New York Times.

Although Quartz contests that this story may not be real as not all smart watches have cameras, it also concedes that PLA has a point about wearable posing a threat to national security.

Aside from the PLA, other armies all over the world are also afraid that passive data collection and sending via these wearables could be more dangerous than intentionally leaking classified information, the report explained.

A PLA squad leader has since confiscated the wearable gadget and reported the rookie to their superiors. They later ruled that wearables indeed pose a threat to PLA's security, the report detailed.

Quoting China's top security firm, it described PLA personnel's use of such a wearable as a violation of the country's security policies. The said policy applies to gadgets with Internet access, GPS, and voice-call functions, and gave more emphasis on wearable knock-offs that have less security features than the original gadgets.

Among the smart devices and wearables included in the PLA ban are smart watches, smart glasses, and fitness trackers, the report added.

Tagswearable, cybersecurity, Smart watch