Security News
Apple and Google have come together to develop an industry specification to prevent "Unwanted tracking," otherwise known as stalking, via Bluetooth location tracking tags. Though Tile has been selling Bluetooth Low Energy wireless tracking tags for a decade, it wasn't until 2021, when Samsung introduced its Galaxy SmartTag and Apple introduced its AirTag, that reports of abuse of the devices became commonplace.
Apple and Google have joined forces to push for adopting new industry standards designed to stop stalking via Bluetooth-enabled location-tracking devices. "The first-of-its-kind specification will allow Bluetooth location-tracking devices to be compatible with unauthorized tracking detection and alerts across iOS and Android platforms," Apple and Google said in coordinated press releases published today.
We've always known that phones-and the people carrying them-can be uniquely identified from their Bluetooth signatures, and that we need security techniques to prevent that. Computer scientists at the University of California San Diego proved in a study published May 24 that minute imperfections in phones caused during manufacturing create a unique Bluetooth beacon, one that establishes a digital signature or fingerprint distinct from any other device.
Researchers warn Bluetooth signals can be used to track device owners via a unique fingerprinting of the radio signal. The paper suggests that minor manufacturing imperfections in hardware are unique with each device, and cause measurable distortions which can be used as a "Fingerprint to track a specific device".
A new research undertaken by a group of academics from the University of California San Diego has revealed for the first time that Bluetooth signals can be fingerprinted to track smartphones. "To perform a physical-layer fingerprinting attack, the attacker must be equipped with a Software Defined Radio sniffer: a radio receiver capable of recording raw IQ radio signals," the researchers said in a new paper titled "Evaluating Physical-Layer BLE Location Tracking Attacks on Mobile Devices."
There are technological and expertise hurdles that a miscreant would have to clear today to track a person through the Bluetooth signals in their devices, they wrote. The researchers - who hail from the school's departments of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering - pointed to the applications governments added to Apple iOS and Android devices used in the COVID-19 pandemic that send out constant Bluetooth signals - or beacons - for contact-tracing efforts.
Kali Linux 2022.2 released: Desktop enhancements, tweaks for the terminal, new tools, and more!Offensive Security has released Kali Linux 2022.2, the latest version of its popular penetration testing and digital forensics platform. VMware issues critical fixes, CISA orders federal agencies to act immediatelyVMware has released patches for a privately reported critical vulnerability in VMware's Workspace ONE Access, VMware Identity Manager, vRealize Lifecycle Manager, vRealize Automation, and VMware Cloud Foundation products, and is urging administrators to patch or mitigate immediately, because "The ramifications of this vulnerability are serious."
Locks that use Bluetooth Low Energy to authenticate keys are vulnerable to remote unlocking. The research focused on Teslas, but the exploit is generalizable.
A novel Bluetooth relay attack can let cybercriminals more easily than ever remotely unlock and operate cars, break open residential smart locks, and breach secure areas. "An attacker can falsely indicate the proximity of Bluetooth LE devices to one another through the use of a relay attack," U.K.-based cybersecurity company NCC Group said.
Vulnerabilities found in Bluetooth Low Energy gives hackers access to numerous devices. A critical flaw found in Bluetooth Low Energy receivers may grant cyber criminals entry to anything from personal devices, such as phones or laptops, to even cars and houses.