Bluetooth Weakness Raises Call Interception Problem

**Anilrgowda** · 16-Aug-2007, 04:51 AM

The fact that phone conversations supported by Bluetooth technology are subdued to the danger of being intercepted has been proved. Eavesdroppers now have a new technologically evolved solution for listening to people's personal conversations, all with the littlest effort.

The greatest danger that this action involves is that it needs only little resources and can be conducted just about by anyone. Moreover, this possibility has been available for some time now and nothing has been done in order to reduce its consequences The main problem that makes it possible for third parties to intercept the conversations between other people stands in the way headsets establish their connection with mobile phones. Wireless headsets are "paired" with cellulars through a secure password which is, in theory, meant to make sure that nobody else can enter the connection between these two devices, no matter whether that happens accidentally or on purpose.

Still, many mobile phones never actually reach the "pairing mode" status, which leaves their connection open for eavesdroppers. A large number of handsets are set to stand by default in pairing mode, although it is recommended that users activate the service by themselves every time they need it. Moreover, they should change their PIN number when that is possible, in order to increase security level.

Instructions on how to build yourself an antenna rifle capable of intercepting phone calls using Bluetooth technology can be easily found over the internet. The thing that makes it accessible for just about anyone is that it needs only few and cheap parts. All that it needs is three foot-long common or garden yagi array antenna to the barrel of a standard rifle. Its performance is a fairly high one, as it can intercept calls from distances larger than one kilometer.

The Bluetooth SIG is trying to work with this problem and has just announced a "Core Specification Version 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)" Bluetooth firmware. This is meant to improve security by using a simple six digit passkey instead of a 16 digit alphanumeric character random PIN code.

16-Aug-2007, 04:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
Anilrgowda Administrator Posts: 18,695 Join Date: Jan 2006 Rep Power: 10 IM:	Bluetooth Weakness Raises Call Interception Problem The fact that phone conversations supported by Bluetooth technology are subdued to the danger of being intercepted has been proved. Eavesdroppers now have a new technologically evolved solution for listening to people's personal conversations, all with the littlest effort. The greatest danger that this action involves is that it needs only little resources and can be conducted just about by anyone. Moreover, this possibility has been available for some time now and nothing has been done in order to reduce its consequences The main problem that makes it possible for third parties to intercept the conversations between other people stands in the way headsets establish their connection with mobile phones. Wireless headsets are "paired" with cellulars through a secure password which is, in theory, meant to make sure that nobody else can enter the connection between these two devices, no matter whether that happens accidentally or on purpose. Still, many mobile phones never actually reach the "pairing mode" status, which leaves their connection open for eavesdroppers. A large number of handsets are set to stand by default in pairing mode, although it is recommended that users activate the service by themselves every time they need it. Moreover, they should change their PIN number when that is possible, in order to increase security level. Instructions on how to build yourself an antenna rifle capable of intercepting phone calls using Bluetooth technology can be easily found over the internet. The thing that makes it accessible for just about anyone is that it needs only few and cheap parts. All that it needs is three foot-long common or garden yagi array antenna to the barrel of a standard rifle. Its performance is a fairly high one, as it can intercept calls from distances larger than one kilometer. The Bluetooth SIG is trying to work with this problem and has just announced a "Core Specification Version 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)" Bluetooth firmware. This is meant to improve security by using a simple six digit passkey instead of a 16 digit alphanumeric character random PIN code. ------------------

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