You may be surprised, but smartphones can be broken even in front of a normal function. We have it on often, sometimes permanently. It’s Bluetooth.
The attackers don’t need your fingerprint or password
Mobile phones and various other electronic devices offer us a lot of different ways to protect them from using other people. In addition to various passwords, numerical or connected polka dots on the display, the phone today also requires fingerprints or recognition of the owner’s face. Yet fraudsters can get into your phone through a commonly used Bluetooth connection service.
You can also find out how hackers use Bluetooth to get to your device in the youtube channel Techtalk101SD.
Open gate for attackers
Precisely because the keys, passwords or biometric characters work quite well, a person sitting with you at one table will not get to your phone when you move away. The fraudsters gain access quite differently than you would expect. The entry port or literally the gateway is Bluetooth for them.
Nowadays we have Bluetooth basically constantly turned on for various reasons. Especially to have different electronics paired and constantly communicating in this way. Throughout the day we usually pair smart watches, bracelets or rings (so -called wearables) or headphones. Connection can be IK printers or various readers or car electronics. We often do not even think that this connection can be unprotected and can be used by someone else.
Bluesnarfing or Bluetooth attack
The use of the Bluetooth function is called bluesnarfing. The attacker gets access via Bluetooth to the data on your phone. In this way, he can get your contacts, photos, messages, emails and basically anything that is unsecured on the phone.
However, it is much more difficult to gain access to hows to applications or banking, these attacks are more complicated than theft of photos or contacts.
In order for no one to join your phone, just turn off the function. It is therefore recommended to intentionally turn off Bluetooth in busy public areas such as shopping centers or cafes. However, this solution is not always useful.
How to defend yourself by Bluetooth attacks
The attacker needs at least one click from the victim to get access to the attacked phone. Often uses fake messages or offers. For example, you may receive a message requiring consent to connect to WiFi. There may be a security warning that you need to click or your device will appear on your device you want to turn off. Or quite simply sends the attacker a non -hidden request for pairing and hopes that you will not notice what it is and you will click.
How to defend yourself? Keep in mind these protection options and be careful!
- Do not turn on Bluetooth when you don’t need it.
- If you want to have a device paired, set the connection so that your device is not visible to unknown users.
- Always check the pairing requests carefully.
- Regularly update systems and applications to have the latest security protection.
- Use strong passwords or PIN code and ideally install antivirus software or security applications.
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