AZCOMP Technologies IT - December 2020

BLUETOOTH MAY BE EASY TO USE

But Now, It May Also Be Easy to Hack

Bluetooth is an extremely handy capability that all our favorite devices have. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and plenty of other “smart” devices utilize Bluetooth to give us all the great features

Here’s how BLE works: Any time two Bluetooth devices move out of range of each other, they disconnect to save battery, then reconnect later when back in range. During this reconnection, an authentication step occurs, and the two devices use cryptographic keys that were established during the initial pairing process. But hackers have found a way to circumvent this authentication, so if they’re near your devices, they can manipulate the reconnection and send erroneous data to your device. Erroneous data can lead to erroneous decisions, and that can lead to much bigger problems. So, if billions of devices are impacted and there seems to be no good way to reach and fix them all in the current generation of tech, what does that mean for you? It means you can use Bluetooth, but stay aware of your surroundings, be vigilant about your use, and above all, be smart when it comes to the data you receive through your devices.

we want. And in many cases, there are more than one of these kinds of devices inside each home. But recently, researchers have uncovered a potentially devastating flaw in Bluetooth technology that could leave billions of people susceptible to hacking.

It’s called a Bluetooth Low Energy Spoofing Attack, and it can impact any device that runs the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol. BLE was developed to conserve battery power while maintaining Bluetooth connections on devices over long periods of time, and it’s such a power-friendly protocol that it has rapidly spread to devices around the globe. These days, you can find BLE in just about everything. The problem now is that there’s an issue with the reconnection process that occurs during BLE, and because BLE is so widespread, it’s that much harder to do a sweeping fix of it.

NEED NETWORKING OR COMPUTER HELP?

SPOTLIGHT ON NEILI HOLMES

If you’ve ever called AZCOMP, chances are you’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Neili

Holmes. Neili has fulfilled many administrative duties during the eight years she’s been with us and has most recently started working in our accounting department. “I bet you’ve

Call our direct support line: 480-730-3055 Create a support ticket via email: ithelp@azcomp.com

Learn more about how to get unlimited computer and networking support at azcomp.com/it. DOWNLOAD OUR FREE REPORT

never heard someone say they were excited to move to the accounting department!” Neili jokes. “The truth is that I’ve loved all the work I’ve done here, so I’m so excited to work with this new team. I wake up every day eager to clock in and get started. When you have the best team and the best customers, how can you not love what you do?” Outside of work, Neili and her husband love hitting the open road in their trailer. “Any weekend we can manage it, we get out and go glamping. Anywhere we can get near some water and act like beach bums is automatically our favorite spot,” she says. After an incredible eight years and counting together, AZCOMP is thrilled that Neili is finding time for some well-deserved R&R.

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