Industry Expert Blogs
Bluetooth Low Energy a Market Catalyst with a Major Security Flaw-August 4, 2014 |
The surge in interest of the wearable device has put a spotlight on Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) as it is the communications mechanism that enables these devices to connect to the user’s mobile phone. The “LE” suffix is important because these devices can operate a week or more on a single battery charge. As a result, a surge in mobile phone linked devices is beginning to flood the market. This has been precipitated by the component chain that has sprung up around Bluetooth LE: semiconductor chips, development boards, and software stacks. Thus, it is possible for a product developer to write a software application such as heart rate monitoring, create a package to hold the device, and start marketing and selling the product. However, in the wild west of Bluetooth LE, security is the one element in the chain everyone seems to be ignoring.