Its key features are robustness, low complexity, low power and
low cost. The technology also offers wireless access to LANs, PSTN, the
mobile phone network and the Internet for a host of home appliances and
portable handheld interfaces.
The immediate need for Bluetooth came from the desire to con-
nect peripherals and devices without cables. The available technology-IrDA
OBEX (IR Data Association Object Exchange Protocol) is based in IR links
that is limited to line of sight connections. Bluetooth integration is further
fueled by the demand for mobile and wireless access to LANs, Internet over
1
mobile and other existing networks, where the backbone is wired but the in-
terface is free to move. This not only makes the network easier to use but
also extends its reach. The advantages and rapid proliferation of LANs sug-
gest that setting up personal area networks, that is, connections among
devices in the proximity of the user, will have many beneficial uses.
2
1) Uses
3
Bluetooth is a radio standard and communications protocol
primarily designed for low power consumption, with a short range (power-
class-dependent: 1 meter, 10 meters, 100 meters) based on low-cost trans-
ceiver microchips in each device.
Class
100 mW 20 dBm ~100 meters
1
Class
2.5 mW 4 dBm ~10 meters
2
Class
1 mW 0 dBm ~1 meter
3
4
(1.1) Bluetooth profiles
5
(1.2) List of applications
hands-free headset or car kit. This was one of the earliest applications
to become popular.
bandwidth is required.
6
9. Wireless controllers of game consoles—Nintendo Wii [1] and Sony
7
(1.3) Bluetooth vs. Wi-Fi in networking
Bluetooth
8
Wi-Fi
9
2) Specifications and Features
10
(2.1) Bluetooth 1.0 and 1.0B
Versions 1.0 and 1.0B had many problems, and manufacturers had
difficulty making their products interoperable. Versions 1.0 and 1.0B also
had mandatory Bluetooth hardware device address (BD_ADDR) transmis-
sion in the handshaking process, rendering anonymity impossible at a pro-
tocol level, which was a major setback for services planned to be used in
Bluetooth environments, such as Consumerisms.
11
(2.2) Bluetooth 1.1
12
(2.3) Bluetooth 1.2
13
(2.4) Bluetooth 2.0
14
(2.5) Future of Bluetooth
15
The next version of Bluetooth technology, currently code-named
Lisbon, includes a number of features to increase security, usability, and
value of Bluetooth.
The following features are defined:
16
is expected that this feature will significantly increase the use of
Bluetooth.
17
UWB integration will create a version of Bluetooth wireless
technology with a high-speed/high-data-rate option. This new version of
Bluetooth technology will meet the high-speed demands of synchronizing
and transferring large amounts of data, as well as enabling high-quality video
and audio applications for portable devices, multi-media projectors and tele-
vision sets, and wireless VOIP.
18
3) Technical information
19
(3.2) Setting up connections
Any Bluetooth device will transmit the following sets of information on de-
mand:
• Device name.
• Device class.
• List of services.
• Technical information, for example, device features, manufacturer,
Bluetooth specification and clock offset.
20
names are used, which can be set by the user. This name appears when an-
other user scans for devices and in lists of paired devices.
21
(3.3) Pairing
Certain printers and access points allow any device to use its
services by default, much like unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Pairing algorithms
are sometimes manufacturer-specific for transmitters and receivers used in
applications such as music and entertainment.
22
(3.4) Air interface
23
Many USB Bluetooth adapters are available, some of which also
include an IrDA adapter. Older (pre-2003) Bluetooth adapters, however, have
limited services, offering only the Bluetooth Enumerator and a less-powerful
Bluetooth Radio incarnation. Such devices can link computers with
Bluetooth, but they do not offer much in the way of services that modern ad-
apters do.
24
(3.5) Security
25
4) Social concerns
2003:
In November 2003, Ben and Adam Laurie from A.L. Digital Ltd.
discovered that serious flaws in Bluetooth security may lead to disclosure of
personal data. It should be noted, however, that the reported security prob-
lems concerned some poor implementations of Bluetooth, rather than the
protocol itself.
2004:
In April 2004, security consultant firm @stake (now Symantec)
revealed a security flaw that makes it possible to crack conversations on
Bluetooth based wireless headsets by reverse engineering the PIN.
26
using Bluetooth to spread itself among mobile phones appeared on the Sym-
bian OS. The virus was first described by Kaspersky Lab and requires users
to confirm the installation of unknown software before it can propagate.
2005:
In April 2005, Cambridge University security researchers pub-
lished results of their actual implementation of passive attacks against the
PIN-based pairing between commercial Bluetooth devices, confirming the
attacks to be practicably fast and the Bluetooth symmetric key establishment
method to be vulnerable. To rectify this vulnerability, they carried out an im-
plementation which showed that stronger, asymmetric key establishment is
feasible for certain classes of devices, such as hand phones.
27
In June 2005, Yaniv Shaked and Avishai Wool published the pa-
per "Cracking the Bluetooth PIN1," which shows both passive and active
methods for obtaining the PIN for a Bluetooth link. The passive attack allows
a suitably equipped attacker to eavesdrop on communications and spoof if
they were present at the time of initial pairing. The active method makes use
of a specially constructed message that must be inserted at a specific point in
the protocol, to make the master and slave repeat the pairing process. After
that, the first method can be used to crack the PIN. This attack's major weak-
ness is that it requires the user of the devices under attack to re-enter the PIN
during the attack when the device prompts them to. Also, this active attack
probably requires custom hardware, since most commercially available
Bluetooth devices are not capable of the timing necessary.
28
2006:
In April 2006, researchers from Secure Network and F-Secure
published a report that warns of the large number of devices left in a visible
state, and issued statistics on the spread of various Bluetooth services and the
ease of spread of an eventual Bluetooth worm.
29
(4.2) Health concerns
30
5) Origin of the name and the logo
The name may have been inspired less by the historical Harald
than the loose interpretation of him in The Long Ships by Frans Gunnar
Bengtsson, a Swedish best-selling Viking-inspired novel.
31
6) Bluetooth Consortium
32
7) Bluetooth Technology Benefits
33
What are Bluetooth Profiles For?
34
Globally Available
35
Range of Devices
36
Ease of Use
37
Secure Connections
38
8) Practical Uses of Bluetooth
Designers of mo-
bile medical systems chose
Brainboxes Bluetooth Com-
pactFlash cards for their in-
novative emergency patient
monitoring unit. The system
consists of three parts, the
mobile patient unit, the hos-
pital work station and the information system. Together, they form
a complete tool for pre-hospital diagnosis support, decision sup-
port, documentation and follow-up. Brainboxes Bluetooth Com-
pactFlash cards wirelessly connect lightweight computers with spe-
cialist software to a small measuring unit that records patient data.
39
(8.2) Bluetooth in Education and in Bank
Banking
40
(8.3) Bluetooth used in the Food Industry
Brainboxes BL-521
Leading manufactur-
ers of scientific instru-
ments and testing appar-
atus used in food dia-
gnostics specify
Bluetooth BL-521 to test
for safe levels of com-
pounds in the food industry.
Brainboxes BL-521 can take a reading from a level measurement
machine to test levels of salt, sodium and minerals in foods. Readings will
then be taken by a handheld PDA and the information fed into a laptop or
PC.
41
(8.4) Bluetooth in Medical
Originally de-
signed to offer a cable-free
connection between PC’s,
printers and other peripherals,
Bluetooth is an open specific-
ation for seamless, wireless,
short-range data and voice
communications.
42