According to a study by seven researchers at the University of California, San Diego, A vulnerability in the Bluetooth telecommunications standard allows the attacker to track users. The standard, whose aim is to simplify connections between nearby electronic devices, requires terminals to emit a unique Bluetooth fingerprint.
This breach makes it possible to locate a user by detecting their phone’s Bluetooth fingerprint. Modern Bluetooth-enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and headsets all have slightly different networking chips, according to the researchers. There are these components unique anomalies can be identified to locate the machine emitting a signal.
Bluetooth lets you spy on iPhone and Android smartphone users
“Bluetooth transfers have the same hardware flaws as Wi-Fi”, the researchers explain in their report. After all, each device emits a slightly different signal. During the experiment, researchers analyzed the signal emitted from an iPhone and Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones. All terminals are vulnerable, regardless of operating system or hardware features.
As part of their experiments, the researchers equipped themselves with a receiver and detection software they developed. After capturing Bluetooth signals for several hours “six cafes, a university library and a food court”experts succeeded Identify 47.1% of 647 devices. 97% of the identified terminals could be tracked without any problems.
However, researchers point out that distinguishing between devices powered by the same chipset (for example, several iPhone models in the same series) is more complicated. On the other hand, smartphones designed by Apple, a stronger Bluetooth signalThis often helps distinguish them from other devices.
Worse, Disabling Bluetooth connection is not enough on your smartphone to prevent a possible hacker from tracking you. According to the researchers, a terminal with Bluetooth disabled continues to transmit and be discoverable. “We’ve found that turning off Bluetooth on some phones won’t stop trackers. For example, on some Apple devices, turning off Bluetooth in Control Center may not be enough.We warn researchers. To protect yourself from potential spies, you should: turn off your smartphoneWhich, frankly, isn’t very practical.
Even more worrying is that this flaw can be easily exploited by hackers. “We believe this attack is possible, so device vendors should consider mitigations. Many devices in use today have unique fingerprints, and the hardware required for the attack costs less than $200.”We warn experts who admit this “The attack is not guaranteed to be successful in all cases.”.
For the record, it’s not like that. It is not uncommon for a flaw to be identified in the Bluetooth standard. In early September, a Bluetooth flaw put billions of Android smartphones at risk. A few months ago,‘ANSSI (National Agency for Computer Systems Security) was already sounding the alarm, confirming that the Bluetooth standard is riddled with dangerous flaws.
