This scary situation can happen to anybody, and that’s because not many people know what bluesnarfing is.
If you notice any Bluetooth-related activity on your phone that you did not initiate, someone has likely pulled a bluesnarfing attack on you. We will be looking at ways to identify these activities and prevent them.
What Is Bluesnarfing?
Bluesnarfing is a process of stealing data from unsuspecting victims via Bluetooth connections. Cyberattackers highly skilled on the job manipulate the Bluetooth technology to get into any device that has its Bluetooth turned on.
Bluetooth hacking is not limited to mobile phones. It can happen with laptops, tablets, and other digital devices that support Bluetooth. Hackers using bluesnarfing can easily get into your contacts, images, messages, videos and even extract your passwords from your gadgets in the shortest time.
Cybercriminals first look for devices with an active and discoverable Bluetooth connection. Then, they use a vulnerability scanning technique to identify blind spots on your phone’s object exchange protocol to transmit data between your device and theirs.
In most cases, victims of bluesnarfing do not know that someone has gained access to their phones. The hackers can download data from a Bluetooth-enabled device using Bluediving.
Bluediving is a utility that identifies vulnerable devices. Skilled programmers can create a bluesnarfing program, while some hire others to help them make this tool.
Some people confuse bluesnarfing with bluejacking. Note that both of them are two different techniques. The two are Bluetooth-related crimes, but bluejacking involves sending unsolicited messages to people’s phones, mainly for advertisement. Although bluejacking is an equally illegal practice, it is not as severe as bluesnarfing.
When someone tries to bluesnarf you, they want to get sensitive data from your device. When hackers gain access to your device, they can do whatever they want with your data. People lose control of their devices and watch someone else operate their phones. Also, you should know that if a person is bluesnarfing your device, they will likely be about 30 feet away.
The attacker can’t go very far unless they use advanced tech. The process of linking the Bluetooth device from a far distance is called Bluesniping. Hackers use this to attack people’s gadgets that are not close to them. The tool can go beyond the Bluetooth range.
How Can You Detect Bluesnarfing?
Your data is a goldmine. You have to guard it because you never know who might be after it for selfish gains. Even some of your favorite companies are also in the business of data mining.
One of the reasons people fall prey to a bluesnarfing attack is the default Bluetooth settings on most devices. Many smartphones today have their Bluetooth settings on discovery mode. So, it’s easy for these hackers to gain access to your device when they are within 30 feet of your phone.
As we already mentioned, hackers use bluesnarfing to gain access to data. You should know that it also has other risks, such as the attacker making calls or sending texts to your contacts. These cybercriminals can go the extra mile to tarnish your image or defraud your contacts if they get into your phone. This is why it is crucial you quickly identify these attacks to combat them immediately.
Attackers can only execute bluesnarfing using a laptop. If there is no laptop, it is impossible to run this operation. They usually attach a Bluetooth dongle and other tools to perform this operation.
Bluesnarfing is an advanced form of cyberattack. As a result of this, Only programming experts can perform it. Often part of a criminal syndicate for a much larger operation, these experts steal data to sell to others on the dark web.
There is a misconception that these are just petty thieves, but it would surprise you that even reputable tech companies can be involved in this kind of activity.
For instance, Google stole data from unprotected wireless networks in 2013, as reported by The New York Times. The company was found guilty of using Google’s Street View cars to steal data. While on the road, these cars scanned unprotected wireless networks to retrieve data from them. Google collected data such as emails and passwords without the owners’ consent. The organization was fined $7 million for this violation.
Even though Google did not directly commit bluesnarfing, its actions were quite similar to what these hackers do: stealing data from unsecured devices. Google did not use Bluetooth to commit this misconduct but instead stole data with unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
The danger lies with leaving your Bluetooth connection on, making your device vulnerable. You should also note that hackers may have different intentions. For instance, terrorists and even kidnappers can use bluesnarfing to conceal their identities, especially when making demands, as it would be difficult for the authorities to trace them.
How Can You Prevent a Bluesnarfing Attack?
We have established the dangers of bluesnarfing and how attackers carry it out. However, the best way to combat this attack is prevention. If you do what is required to avert such attacks, you won’t have to worry about resolving them.
Bluesnarfing is tricky because it leaves you with no opportunity to file a data breach claim since there are no third parties involved. You must take adequate measures to protect your data in this case because you are solely responsible for it.
Here are some of the things you can do to prevent bluesnarfing attacks.
Keep confidential data safe in devices that don’t use Bluetooth. Install the latest updates on your mobile devices. Turn off your Bluetooth connection when you are not using it. Do not accept to pair with an unknown device. Make sure you use robust passwords on your devices. Change your passwords regularly.
Keeping your Bluetooth connection turned off will prevent any unauthorized access. Attackers only have something to work with when an active connection is available.
Disable Bluetooth to Prevent Bluesnarfing
Many devices are vulnerable to cyber threats because the owners don’t safeguard their devices. Bluesnarfing is gaining momentum due to a lack of awareness among Bluetooth users. The more people are aware of bluesnarfing and protect their data accordingly, the less we have to worry about increasing cases.
You can easily turn off the Bluetooth connection on older devices. However, modern smartphones have built-in authentication that hackers can bypass to pair with untrusted devices. This shows that the latest technology is not always the best. Sometimes, the older ways are more effective. And if turning off Bluetooth protects you from bluesnarfing, why not just do it even if it’s old school?
