Re:Student tracks Bluetooth headset wearers by wardriving ar...
by AshamedCaptain on Sunday September 05, 2021 @09:16AM
(#28424118)
Assuming that all these headsets are bluetooth "classic", since I am yet to see a bluetooth low energy headset, how could they be tracked, anyway?
Were the headsets all in "discoverable" mode ? Are headsets announcing their MACs even when not in discoverable mode ? Or do they broadcast their MACs in plain text even during a paired&encrypted connection ?
Bluetooth LE, which is used for wearables like smart watches etc, supports address randomization and it has mechanism for finding paired devices even though the address changes. Bluetooth LE devices must advertise for other devices to be able to connect. Many headsets nowadays use classic Bluetooth for audio streaming and handsfree but in addition they use Bluetooth LE for configuring the headset through their app. That is why the headsets are often advertising all the time.
As a side note, contact tracing apps are making our phones also to advertise. Fortunately they are using address randomization properly to ensure phones can't be tracked.