People and organizations depend on wireless communications widely because it offers several benefits like flexibility, portability, and increased productivity. Its installation cost is also less. With the advanced technology of wireless l+ocal area network devices, people don’t need wires to move their laptops from one location to another within their offices without losing network connection.
Advantages of networks that are enabled with Bluetooth
Wireless technology such as Bluetooth makes the users’ tasks easy. Some of the main advantages of wireless networks are the following.
- It enables users to synchronize the date with network systems and to share these data between devices
- It can eliminate the need for cables to connect printers and other peripheral devices
- It makes personal database synchronization possible
- It enables users to be accessible to network services like web browsing, wireless email, and internet use
Risks of wireless network technology such as Bluetooth
Even though the wireless network has several advantages, some risks are inherent in this technology. The main risks associated commonly associated with the wireless networks are loss of integrity and confidentiality and the threat of service attacks denial.
Here are describing some of the specific vulnerabilities and threats to wireless communication and handled devices.
- The wireless technology experiences all the vulnerabilities that are existing with a traditional wired network
- Malicious entities may use wireless connections to gain unauthorized access to the computer network of an agency, with the help of any firewall protection
- If two wireless devices are used to transmit sensitive information, which is not encrypted or is encrypted by weak cryptographic technologies, each other, there are possibilities for intercepting and disclosing the information
- The improper synchronization may result in corrupted sensitive data
- The improperly configured devices may extract data without detection
Bluetooth security aspects
The security provided by the Bluetooth system is mainly at two levels that are link layer and application layer.
Security at the link-layer level
Security at the link layer is maintained by four different entities. They are a Bluetooth device address, keys, two secrets, and a pseudo-random number.
For each new transaction, the number shall be regenerated. The four entities should be in fixed sizes; 48 bits of Bluetooth device address 128 bits of authentication private user key, 8 to 128 bits of encryption private user key, and 128nbits of RAND.
Bluetooth security modes
There are three security modes in Bluetooth. They are the following.
- Security mode1: Non-secure
- Security mode 2: Security at the service level
This model possesses three devices
- Trusted device
- UN-trusted device
- Unknown device
Mode 3: Link level
Trusted device: A device, which has been connected before the link key is stored and as flagged as a trusted device in the database device, is called the trusted device.
Un-trusted device: The device, which has connected and authenticated prior to the link key is stored, but is not flagged as a trusted device, is called an un-trusted device.
Unknown-device: The device, which has not connected before is called an unknown device.
Bottom Line
There are two types of services in terms of security at the Bluetooth service level. In the services which require authorization and authentication and the services which require authentication only. The importance of technology has evolved the network security systems in the entire world.