Bluesnarfing is the unauthorized access of information from a wireless device through a

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

connection, often between phones, desktops, laptops, and PDAs (

personal digital assistant A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a multi-purpose mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. Following a boom in the 1990s and 2000s, PDAs were mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of more highly capable smar ...

). This allows access to calendars, contact lists, emails and text messages, and on some phones, users can copy pictures and private videos. Both Bluesnarfing and

Bluejacking __NOTOC__ Bluejacking is the sending of unsolicited messages over Bluetooth to Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones, PDAs or laptop computers, sending a vCard which typically contains a message in the name field (i.e., for bluedati ...

exploit others' Bluetooth connections without their knowledge. While Bluejacking is essentially harmless as it only transmits data to the target device, Bluesnarfing is the theft of information from the target device. For a Bluesnarfing attack to succeed, the attacker generally needs to be within a maximum range of 10 meters from the target device. In some cases, though, attackers can initiate a Bluesnarfing attack from a greater distance.

Description

Bluesnarfing exploits vulnerabilities in the OBject EXchange protocol used for Bluetooth device communication, involving hackers who use tools like Bluediving to detect susceptible devices. Once a vulnerable device is identified, hackers establish a connection and employ Bluesnarfing tools to extract data. These tools, available on the

dark web The dark web is the World Wide Web content that exists on darknets ( overlay networks) that use the Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access. Through the dark web, private computer networks can communica ...

or developed by hackers, enable attackers to access sensitive information from compromised devices. Any device with its Bluetooth connection turned on and set to "discoverable" (able to be found by other Bluetooth devices in range) may be susceptible to Bluejacking and possibly to Bluesnarfing if there is a vulnerability in the vendor's software. By turning off this feature, the potential victim can be safer from the possibility of being Bluesnarfed; although a device that is set to "hidden" may be Bluesnarfable by guessing the device's

MAC address A MAC address (short for medium access control address or media access control address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. This use i ...

via a

brute force attack In cryptography, a brute-force attack or exhaustive key search is a cryptanalytic attack that consists of an attacker submitting many possible Key (cryptography), keys or passwords with the hope of eventually guessing correctly. This strategy can ...

. As with all brute force attacks, the main obstacle to this approach is the sheer number of possible MAC addresses. Bluetooth uses a 48-bit unique MAC Address, of which the first 24 bits are common to a manufacturer. The remaining 24 bits have approximately 16.8 million possible combinations, requiring an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 8.4 million attempts to guess by brute force.

Prevalence

Attacks on wireless systems have increased along with the popularity of

wireless network A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes. Wireless networking allows homes, telecommunications networks, and business installations to avoid the costly process of introducing cables int ...

s. Attackers often search for rogue access points, or unauthorized wireless devices installed in an organization's network and allow an attacker to circumvent network security. Rogue access points and unsecured wireless networks are often detected through war driving, which is using an automobile or other means of transportation to search for a wireless signal over a large area. Bluesnarfing is an attack to access information from wireless devices that transmit using the Bluetooth protocol. With mobile devices, this type of attack is often used to target the

international mobile equipment identity The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a numeric identifier, usually unique, for 3GPP and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone but can also b ...

(IMEI). Access to this unique piece of data enables the attackers to divert incoming calls and messages to another device without the user's knowledge.

Response

Bluetooth vendors advise customers with vulnerable Bluetooth devices to either turn them off in areas regarded as unsafe or set them to undiscoverable. This Bluetooth setting allows users to keep their Bluetooth on so that compatible Bluetooth products can be used but other Bluetooth devices cannot discover them. Because Bluesnarfing is an invasion of

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

, it is illegal in many countries.

Bluesniping

''Bluesniping'' has emerged as a specific form of Bluesnarfing that is effective at longer ranges than normally possible. According to ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'' magazine, this method surfaced at the

Black Hat Briefings Black Hat Briefings (commonly referred to as Black Hat) is a computer security conference that provides security consulting, training, and briefings to hackers, corporations, and government agencies around the world. Black Hat brings together ...

and

DEF CON DEF CON (also written as DEFCON, Defcon, or DC) is a Computer security conference, hacker convention held annually in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada. The first DEF CON took place in June 1993 and today many attendees at DEF CON include comp ...

hacker conferences of 2004 where it was shown on the G4techTV show ''

The Screen Savers ''The Screen Savers'' is an American TV show that aired on TechTV from 1998 to 2005. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV (later known as TechTV) on May 11, 1998. ''The Screen Savers'' originally centered on computers, new techn ...

''. For example, a "rifle" with a directional antenna,

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

-powered embedded PC, and

module mounted on a Ruger 10/22 folding stock has been used for long-range Bluesnarfing.

In popular culture

In the TV series ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'', Bluesnarfing, often mistakenly referred to as Bluejacking in the show and at other times forced pairing and phone cloning, is a common element in the show used to spy on and track the people the main characters are trying to save or stop.

References