UK researcher finds Bluetooth more of a privacy threat than RFID

Privacy advocates have long since pointed out that the sniff-ability of Bluetooth signals were cause for concern, but now one University of Bath researcher has a little data to back that up. Vassilis Kostakos placed four Bluetooth receivers in the city's center for four months, during which he and his team tracked over 10,000 BT-enabled mobiles. According to Mr. Kostakos, they were able to "capture and analyze people's encounters in pubs, streets and shops." He continued on to mention that "Bluetooth is now more of a privacy threat than the more frequently publicized RFID chips," and he encouraged worried denizens to turn off the BT function on their phone to help curb the paranoia. Of course, that won't stop Big Brother from seeing your every move whilst in the UK, but whatever helps you sleep better is alright with us.

[Image courtesy of Symbian World]

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ May 8th 2008 5:29PM]

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.

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 5:32PM]

*turns off bluetooth on cellphone*

This is scary.

[kbiel @ May 8th 2008 6:14PM]

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.

[JAmerican @ May 9th 2008 1:47AM]

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)

[Noah Milman @ May 8th 2008 5:34PM]

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.

[rdude @ May 8th 2008 5:49PM]

Believe it or not, British Telecom's Broadband Anywhere doesn't actually have anything to do with Bluetooth.

[Speney G @ May 8th 2008 5:43PM]

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.

[Raheem @ May 8th 2008 6:31PM]

But we have them, so there!

[Noah Milman @ May 8th 2008 5:53PM]

So the HTC device that they give you with Windows Mobile doesn't have bluetooth on it?

[srw985 @ May 8th 2008 5:53PM]

Well done braniacs.
If you don't like it, turn your bluetooth off!

[Shane @ May 8th 2008 6:01PM]

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?

[bdewong @ May 8th 2008 6:21PM]

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.

[MyFirstMoniker @ May 9th 2008 8:53AM]

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.

[Archelium @ May 8th 2008 7:28PM]

What's with the E90 pic? Is that the most unsecure bluetooth enabled phone or something? lol...

[icurafu @ May 8th 2008 7:35PM]

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.

[Wwhat @ May 8th 2008 8:14PM]

BT is under the control of the user, RFID are generally either sneaky or enforced or both - enough said.

[Wwhat @ May 8th 2008 8:16PM]

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.

[threefingeredlord @ May 8th 2008 8:30PM]

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

[majortom @ May 8th 2008 9:26PM]

I dare anyone to listen to my conversations. Really. They put me to sleep and I am one of the "interested" parties.

[Paul D @ May 9th 2008 2:06AM]

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.

[PSM @ May 9th 2008 2:41AM]

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.

[Wwhat @ May 9th 2008 5:28AM]

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.

[Valgas @ May 9th 2008 7:16AM]

Ok. Where is the guide to cracking BT signals then?

[ssuk @ May 9th 2008 7:57AM]

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.