Chapter 29: Attacking Bluetooth

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Overview

Bluetooth devices are increasing in number, invading the market like an avalanche. Promotion materials declare that the Bluetooth data transmission protocol is secure and reliable. This isn't quite true, because a sharpshooting radio rifle at a distance of several kilometers easily neutralizes this protection. Hackers have been penetrating Bluetooth networks for a long time. This chapter describes how they achieve this.

Contemporary mobile devices, such as cellular telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and notebooks , are equipped with Bluetooth, which makes it a promising and enticing target for attack. Intruder can connect to the device without authorization, sniff traffic, determine the location of the victim, and trace the victim as he or she travels , or organize DoS attacks. Several cases of successful attacks on key clients have been registered, and the intensity of this activity is increasing. Bluetooth developers pile the blame on hardware manufacturers, saying that they have implemented their devices incorrectly. Hardware manufacturers, in turn, blame users, who make such errors as choosing predictable Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and failing to turn Bluetooth off after each session. In other words, there is no one to blame. The number of Bluetooth devices is already in the hundreds of millions, and there is every indication that Bluetooth will become even more popular, because for the moment this technology has no real competitors .

Bluetooth is used for building home and small office LANs and for equipping keyboards, mice, printers, clocks, etc. Even some car navigation and control systems are now built on the basis of Bluetooth (Fig. 29.1). Stop! Users of such systems are exposed to real danger. In this case, a malicious attack not only can leak confidential data but also can endanger human lives. When I declare this, I do not urge anyone to hack anything. I just want to demonstrate how dangerous Blue-tooth is. It is up to you to trust it or not.

image from book
Figure 29.1: Bluetooth is omnipresent nowadays

Attacks on Bluetooth are not science fiction . They are real, and this reality is available to anyone. There is a wireless sport known as fox hunting. A radio transmitter (a fox) is installed in some secret location, and radio fans with receivers try to take the bearings of it. The one who finds it first wins. By analogy, remote hacking of Bluetooth networks is called hen hunting (defenseless users), who are helpless against a sharpshooting radio rifle.

Hackers that indulge in this hunting say this occupation is exciting and interesting. It captivates and doesn't let go. Having shot the first victim, the hunter wants to shoot more. To achieve success, a hunter is prepared to lay an ambush for a long time, spend considerable time and effort on preliminary technical preparations , spend lots of money for expensive equipment, etc.

Note  

The origin of the Bluetooth name is strange and even suspicious. Most technical writers state that this technology was named after Harald Blatand, the king of the Vikings who united Denmark and Norway. It is said that he obtained his nickname because of the darkened foretooth and that this nickname is concordant with Bluetooth.

Respected hacker Yury Haron has suggested another version of this explanation, which I consider true ( assuming it is possible to find the truth). Blue means "easy" in the jargon of electronic engineers , and tooth usually means "link" or "connection." Thus, according to this technical slang, Bluetooth stands for "easy connection." Isn't that logical?



Shellcoder's Programming Uncovered
Shellcoders Programming Uncovered (Uncovered series)
ISBN: 193176946X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 164

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