UK researcher finds Bluetooth more of a privacy threat than RFID
By Darren Murph 
posted May 8th 2008 5:21PM
posted May 8th 2008 5:21PM
[Image courtesy of Symbian World]
posted May 8th 2008 5:21PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
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We've known this since it first rolled out years ago. So the researcher is just bringing up the past.
Some were even sent porn videos while in the pubs. equals a good night out.
*turns off bluetooth on cellphone*
This is scary.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Turn off your bluetooth NOW so that your WIRELESS phone doesn't transmit any WIRELESS signals that people can use to track you!
In other news, researchers find that oxygen is a very reactive element and can be found everywhere. They suggest you stop breathing to prevent oxygen from reacting with your body.
You have the option to turn off Bluetooth on a cell phone. You can't turn off RFID chips in your driver's license (soon to come thanks to Real ID Act - USA)
This is interesting news. Especially since BT just announced their new Broadband Anywhere Service which has an anti-virus solution installed right on it which runs constantly at no extra cost.
Believe it or not, British Telecom's Broadband Anywhere doesn't actually have anything to do with Bluetooth.
Please don't torture us with the E90 until it comes with US 3G, and even then it will cost slightly less than a Vertu.
But we have them, so there!
So the HTC device that they give you with Windows Mobile doesn't have bluetooth on it?
Well done braniacs.
If you don't like it, turn your bluetooth off!
Well that's a pretty vague statement. What information exactly can they pull from the Bluetooth signal? Can they access the device, or can they just register that a particular device was in range of the scanner?
I think this article is most important for people that don't read this site. You can actually snoop peoples data such as their internet activity or phone conversations. Just like with all wireless connections, it depends on the encryption. And Bluetooth is one of the easier ones to crack.
Or like the OP put it, nothing new.
I have not heard of the possibility to listen to bluetooth conversations or network traffic. As far as I know no tools exists which allow you to crack the bluetooth encryption.
What's with the E90 pic? Is that the most unsecure bluetooth enabled phone or something? lol...
The difference being, RFID cards are always readable and typically give information useful for people wanting to steal your money.
Blutooth can allow someone nearby to track your location, listen into your music/conversations but most importantly, can be turned off so that your interactions cannot be tracked.
BT is under the control of the user, RFID are generally either sneaky or enforced or both - enough said.
Mind you I did notice that big companies like sony sell BT headsets and such that have a hardwired unchangeable 'code' of 0000 and that is a bit pushing it in respect to security, because not only does anybody know the code but you'd have to set your phone to allow that known code, talk about a paradise for hackers.
hah, hah hah hah
yeah, ok lets see.....
hah hah hah
im drunk, but even then i know what kbiel says makes sense
oh humanity
I dare anyone to listen to my conversations. Really. They put me to sleep and I am one of the "interested" parties.
The issue isn't Bluetooth vs RFID. The issue is that we can all choose what information to store and not store on our mobile devices, and whether or not to have Bluetooth turned on.
We have less choice when it comes to the government *demanding* RFID in our drivers' licenses and passports.
I'm given comfort by the fact that if Big Brother really wanted to track my location or activities, there are so many ways to do it that my BT phone hardly matters, and I'm probably not interesting enough for any private citizen to bother stalking.
If you got a few bob you are interesting enough for certain parties.
And if you have a valid ID you are interesting to many scammers too.
Ok. Where is the guide to cracking BT signals then?
Damn, thought I was going to read something on Engadget which had "UK" in the title which didn't make reference to "Big Brother" or "Security Cameras" when the topic of the article wasn't centred around them.
But I digress, any technologically minded person sees the potential dangers of Bluetooth. I constantly see these applications for mobile phones where you can try and connect to other's Bluetooth network, if it hasn't got a password or the phone you're connecting to doesn't have security measures, they can easily just grab whatever data or information the phone allows Bluetooth to send.
Most people turn off their Bluetooth anyway, they feel it's a battery drain and they hardly ever use it. Of course, there will be those who just don't care or don't realise that it's even on. But all new modern phones will have security measures activated by default to stop people maliciously taking information off a phone without the user's consent. Thus, this isn't a huge privacy threat, but a privacy threat regardless.