The Bluetooth Honeypot Project: Measuring and Managing Bluetooth Risks in the Workplace

Bluetooth technology (BT) and the inherent security vulnerabilities it introduces into business domains are often overlooked when security policies are developed. However, the International Data Corporation (IDC) projected that global Bluetooth short-wave wire semiconductor revenue will triple from $1.7 billion in 2007, to $3.3 billion in 2012 (Reidy, 2008). After a brief history of Bluetooth technology, researchers will examine how Bluetooth works, its vulnerabilities, and how these vulnerabilities can be exploited. Bluetooth malware and its associated risks will also be explored. As a practical approach to monitor Bluetooth threats and malware, the employment of a Bluetooth honeypot will be discussed, including honeypot structure and the legalities of deploying them. Building on Andrew Smith’s earlier work developing Bluepot, a functional Bluetooth honeypot (Smith, 2011), researchers will test Bluepot and discuss the feasibility of using it as a prototype for developing a functional Bluetooth honeypot to secure corporate data and analyze BT malware.