Things you need to know about Bluetooth Security for IoT devices

By Harnil Oza

With a few rules influencing the Internet of things, Bluetooth security for IoT becomes extremely vital. For the customer to industrial-focused IoT, leveraging the web networks Bluetooth low power is improving build Industry 4.0. Organizations that build IoT devices for a large number of users should examine security vulnerabilities as product development.

With Bluetooth 5.0, the magnified BLE range, enhanced channels, and network topology are excellent. When you correlate your safety-critical operations, your consumer outcomes and your natural workflow using Bluetooth low power. How safe is Bluetooth?

Common Bluetooth security vulnerabilities

A statement from NIST lists common Bluetooth security vulnerabilities. While many have been mend over the years as the Bluetooth protocol has evolved, many vulnerabilities still exist even in the most current version of Bluetooth. Here is a collection of modern security limitations:

No user authentication – presently, the Bluetooth designation only allows built-in device-level authentication. Application and user-level security can be summed by the application developer.No end-to-end security – extra security layers can implement end-to-end encryption, but in the modern specification, only specific links are encrypted. Even so, the messages are decrypted at common points.

Discoverable devices are likely to attack- devices should not remain in discoverable mode at all times. Only switch it on when needed.Link keys may be stored insecurely- Bluetooth link codes could be read or changed by an offense if they are not put securely.

List of common Bluetooth security risks for IoT

A report from a renowned College puts out a record of security vulnerabilities fixed in wireless and Bluetooth connections. In the report, of the full list, but some of the more unsettling connections are explained below:

Data could be corrupted when incorrect synchronization. Data can be taken out without vulnerability to many wireless mobile devices. Many IoT devices are easily theft, and with it, any tender data remaining on the device.

Tender information transferred between two wireless devices (or data encrypted with inadequate cryptographic systems) can be stopped and decoded. It is called a Man in the middle attack (MITM).

Firstly understand what a man in the middle attack? If you’re transferring data between two wireless devices (such as some information in your device) it could be blocked by a third party called a “man in the middle.”

When two devices shift levers, the attacker gets the sign and replaces it with their own, representing the other user.

So how do we guard against this? There are three levels of MITM encryption you can apply:

No protection

It uses a known key equal to 0, indicating that an attacker can follow your link if they catch your packets during pairing.

Low protection

It includes using a user data passkey that’s less than 1,000,000. It means, an attacker only requires to try one million keys.

High protection

In this method, the device uses an out of zone key. This way, the attacker would require to know the key to progress. However, there’s no key-exchange method yet within BLE.

Yielding eavesdropping in Bluetooth

While working on a secure passkey can help protect against MITM attacks. Yielding eavesdropping is a bit unusual from MITM because it does not seek to develop or portray the data. It simply sits there, observing and gathering information.

Expert mentions that up to 80 percent of Bluetooth smart devices are unsafe to MITM attacks because organizations often do not complete bonding and encryption models. It can be decreased by using AES cryptography in extension to a secure pairing or key change process.

Does Bluetooth encrypt?

Since Bluetooth 2.1, encryption has been necessary after devices have been paired. Remark that this does not say anything about the encryption of the pairing or authentication method.

For instance, since there is no screen on your wireless keyboard or headset, it’s not simple to know you’re comparing to the right device. Of course, you should constantly monitor the MAC address, but that can easily be tricked.

Bluetooth Out Of Band techniques pairing

When performed accurately, Out of Band pairing techniques can be used to guard against some of the risks implicit in the system like Passkey Entry. However, considering it’s up to the developer to build a pairing method, safety largely depends on the technology applied.

A regular usage case for Out Band pairing is NFC (near field communication). It happens when you tap two devices together to join them. The concept is that since the devices are so close together, you do mean to match them.

Under the cover, both devices must have their OOB data flag set if they wish to utilized OOB for pairing. Then the exchange method works similar to Passkey Entry with two sides exchanging a chance and confirm the benefits.

Bluetooth Passkey Entry

When a person or more of the emblems has an amount and an input device, they can use Bluetooth Passkey Entry to match. According to an expert on the Bluetooth blog, the initiating tool will display a six-digit amount within 000000 and 999999. Then the user must start the equivalent number into the responding device, gave it has data functionality.

Bluetooth passkey entry

Then each device produces a 128-bit establish value using the algorithm shown in the Bluetooth Specification. Once those values have been transferred and verified; then an encrypted channel endures between the two emblems, and we can say they have been matched.

Bluetooth Numeric Comparison

As of Bluetooth 4.2, a new pairing method exists called LE Secure Connections that relieves some of the risk connected with passkey pairing. In extension to Passkey, Just Works, and Out of Band Authentication, there is a new program called Numeric Comparison.

As long as two devices can accept a yes or no input, devices can utilize this arrangement to join, and it may guard against MITM attacks.

Two BLE devices can generate the shared keys; they make the Long Term Key (LTK) and the MAC key.

Final Words

The security of Bluetooth allowed IoT devices.

About the Author

Harnil Oza is CEO of Hyperlink InfoSystem, a mobile app development company in New York and India, having a team of the best app developers who deliver the best mobile solutions mainly on Android and iOS platforms. He regularly contributes his knowledge on leading blogging sites like top app development companies.