Having the Bluetooth of the mobile device activated at all times may seem harmless, but the reality is that it is not and any attacker can take advantage of it to steal information or worse.
Currently mobile phones have become telecommunications centers and have a large number of connections. The advances that have been made in these fields mean that any device integrates, at a minimum, connections as basic as Bluetooth, WIFI and, of course, connections to operators.
These connections have been standardized to such an extent and they are so useful on a day-to-day basis that, normally, once they are activated they are not deactivated again for a long time. It may be that in the WIFi or the 4G and 5G connections this is not entirely the case, but In Bluetooth, the truth is that once the connectivity is turned on; this then always stays on.
It may seem that keeping the Bluetooth of the mobile device always on does not pose any type of problem for the smartphone, but the reality is that any cybercriminal can take advantage of this to steal data or even much worse situations. We are going to see the main cases and why it is advisable to deactivate Bluetooth if it is not being used.
First of all you have to understand that Bluetooth is a process that allows the sending and receiving of data, making the device on which it is activated exposed to possible attackers. Come on, the phone is always exposed. Now having made this clear, let’s move on to how they can access the device by simply having Bluetooth activated.
Bluejacking is one of the most common hacking methods using Bluetooth. The way it works is pretty basic, the attacker connects to your mobile device through this connection and starts sending messages to other nearby devices; although the worst thing is that you can make international calls for a fee.
Bluebugging is another method used by attackers. This particular method is one of the most serious, as the cybercriminal gains full privileges within the device and this makes them able to perform any type of task with the device. Go, has complete control and can access privileged information such as phone calls.
Bluesnarfing is a somewhat more restrained version of the previous one, the attacker does not gain full power over the device, but he can access the information general that is inside the terminal. Also, it can steal all this information like photos, videos, emails, messages and so on via Bluetooth.
Although all these forms of information theft are worrying, they are not the only ones to consider. And, it is that, the keeping Bluetooth activated what it also does is report your location to any type of criminal who wants to have control over your movements. Besides, any malicious app you installed by mistake can also use it against you.
It is best to disable Bluetooth in case it is not being used. The advantage of a better or faster connection with devices such as headphones, keyboards, and so on, outweighs much less if we take into account the fact that, when keeping this connection active poses a danger to the information stored on the mobile device.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism