3 Bluetooth Issues, 1 Bluetooth Weapon The FBI is Worried About

Bluetooth may become an headache for law enforcement.

Some of the bluetooth technology security issues are commonly known
- but one (see #2) is something almost no one knows about.

The FBI knows about this "blue weapon" and it is pretty worried for
good reasons.

The four potential problems:

1- Unauthorized access
A bluetooth device can possibly be surreptitiously accessed and have
it's information downloaded. Especially since most devices by default
come with security disabled.

Criminals as well as law enforcement itself could potentially use or
misuse this capability.

Accessing and downloading all kinds of information from bluetooth
devices make the possibility of phone cloning and modification of
information, as well as identity theft a real concern.

2- Anonymous communication
Furthermore, there's a method of communication using bluetooth that
allow for anonymous messaging.

Criminals could use this capability to facilitate their illicit
activities by communicating with each other without having law
enforcement listening in on their conversations.

Here's the basic of how it works...

When two bluetooth devices first start to communicate with each other,
they need to authenticate each other. This is called "handshake".

As they handshake there is a designated area of this part of the
communication process that is utilized to transmit the name of one
device to the other.

This designated area can allow criminals (or just about anyone) to
cram in short three or four word messages in there - thus providing
criminals with a three/four word anonymous communication capability
from one device to another where law enforcement is blind to this
communication taking place.

It's possible to send an anonymous message of up to 248 characters,
to be exact.

Something authorities are genuinely worried about.

3- Gaining access to data on a cell phone
With early versions of bluetooth-enabled cell phones, it's possible to
connect and gain access to some of the data on this cell phone,
including its calendar and phonebook.

This is done with a specific piece of software we won't mention here.

4- Sniffing
While not a threat in itself, sniffing is more commonly known. It's
about using a tool designed to scan and identify devices.

Since most bluetooth devices usually have their security disabled by
default, a hacker will often be able to compromise the security of
such devices pretty easily.

Identity theft, phone cloning and data manipulation of computer files
are then posssible, as mentioned at t he beginning of this article.

In conclusion
While new wireless technologies are always touted and appreciated, one
should always make sure he knows how to utilize it as securely as
possible.

If this means consulting with an expert or doing your own research,
then do it because the security of your data is probably worth gold to
you...

...and may be worth gold to others as well...

Max Penn is one of four people behind www.spy-equipment-buying-guide.com and provide quality information on surveillance gear. To find more you can go to spy gear