Consumer Security Alert: Hands-Free Bluetooth Devices Unsecure According to ID Theft Expert Jim Stickley |
Conversations that Occur on Bluetooth Devices Are Vulnerable to
Eavesdropping Since Security Safeguards Are Mute Issue
BATON ROUGE, La., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- TraceSecurity, a leading
provider of on-demand security compliance management solutions, announced
today that its CTO and co-founder, Jim Stickley, has demonstrated how
conversations that take place in the privacy of your car can be monitored
and or recorded by exploiting weaknesses in some Bluetooth hands free
devices. During today's broadcast of NBC's TODAY Show, Jim Stickley
demonstrated how some hands free car devices that employ Bluetooth
technology are vulnerable to the most simple of attacks. As seen on the
segment, the attacks allowed Stickley to access the communication over
Bluetooth from a remote location and listen in to conversations that were
taking place by car passengers.
"These types of vulnerabilities have been around for a number of years
and what is surprising is that a number of new products on the market are
still vulnerable to these types of attacks," said Jim Stickley, CTO and
co-founder of TraceSecurity. "When purchasing a hands-free device users
should verify that the device is not always in pairing mode but instead
requires the user to press a button to activate the pairing mode. Also when
possible change the pin to something other than the default. For users who
already have these insecure devices the best advice is to leave them off or
unplugged except when needed."
During testing with the NBC TODAY Show, Stickley followed a few car
lengths behind a car that was equipped with a hands-free Bluetooth device
and listened in on the conversation taking place by the vehicle occupants.
The test showed that not only could Stickley access the communication
occurring over Bluetooth technology and hear the conversation, but that the
occupants of the car had no warning or indication Stickley had accessed the
hands-free Bluetooth device and was listening in.
To find out more about this story, visit TraceSecurity's web site at
http://www.tracesecurity.com.
About TraceSecurity
TraceSecurity is a leading provider of security compliance and risk
management solutions. The company helps organizations of all sizes to
achieve, maintain and demonstrate security compliance while significantly
improving their security posture. Key to TraceSecurity's success is the
company's comprehensive patent-pending methodology that helps clients
address all of the critical components of a successful security compliance
program: people, process and technology.
TraceSecurity delivers its solutions through an integrated
software-as-a- service platform backed by expert professional services and
comprehensive security awareness programs. The company's flagship offering,
TraceCompliance Manager, is the first comprehensive solution to automate
regulatory compliance audits, board level reporting, policy management,
vulnerability assessment, and employee education and testing. The company's
expert professional services include onsite risk assessments, security
audits, and social engineering. The security awareness programs include an
exhaustive set of standard offerings as well as custom designed courses.
With over 600 clients, TraceSecurity supports the risk management and
security compliance efforts of organizations in financial services,
healthcare, insurance, government and other regulated sectors. For more
information, please visit http://www.tracesecurity.com.
SOURCE TraceSecurity
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CONTACT:
David Splivalo of Freestyle Public Relations,
+1-703-373-3566, david@freestylepr.com, for TraceSecurity
