Millions of Bluetooth devices once again found to be vulnerable to attacks

You might have seen that Bluetooth devices often connect to each other when they come in close proximity. However, you might not be interested to know how this actually happens. Well, this happens because all the Bluetooth devices constantly broadcast messages in the open. This messages can be seen as someone introducing itself to other people randomly. Basically, the Bluetooth devices are saying that “I am a Fitbit device named so and so”. This helps the other device to know that the Bluetooth device is a recognizable one and connects to them.

Now, this is where the problem likes. As the Bluetooth devices broadcast their messages, anyone can fetch them and understand them. Later, they can hijack parts of the message to create a false positive and connect unknown devices to your Bluetooth device. This means that your device becomes vulnerable to tracking and getting hijacked as well.

However, companies have taken steps to counter these. A new technology called randomization has been introduced which means that the Bluetooth devices don’t broadcast the same message every time. Instead, a random message with a hidden address is broadcasted. But the problem here is that many companies don’t make use of this technique due to cost-cutting, lack of resources and various other reasons. It has been found that Fitbit devices don’t use this technique and so they are very vulnerable. However, Apple and Microsoft are found to be using this technique so they are less likely to be tracked.