Internet of Vulnerable Things: Bluetooth Smart Vulnerabilities

Speaker/Bio

Michael Hirsch's (MSEE, PhD EE Candidate) primary research area is observational aeronomy, specifically remote sensing of the aurora borealis via networked high speed ground-based cameras. His interest and background in practical security comes from securing these networked systems which are spread across remote rural regions of Alaska and Canada, as well as from his background as an amateur radio operator.

Abstract

High-end consumers are a prime market for connected lifestyle devices such as smartwatches. The relatively high cost of these items is taken by some as a marker of prestige. The unseen bullseye these devices can place on the end user is not part of the marketing literature. We take a look via experimentation, recent literature and examination of the publicly disclosed Bluetooth specifications how the end user might easily expose themselves to physical and cyber risks.

References

1. Bluetooth 4.2 Spec. https://www.bluetooth.org/en-us/specification/adopted-specifications
2. M. Ryan. Bluetooth Smart, Blackhat 2013 https://media.blackhat.com/us-13/us-13-Ryan-Bluetooth-Smart-The-Good-The-Bad-The-Ugly-and-The-Fix.pdf
3. National Security Agency. Bluetooth Security. https://www.nsa.gov/ia/_files/factsheets/i732-016r-07.pdf