

- #What does le stand for mac Bluetooth
- #What does le stand for mac series
- #What does le stand for mac mac
As such, they know exactly how often the MAC address will change. In general, those random, private MAC addresses change according to a timer that the manufacturer implements in their product’s firmware.
#What does le stand for mac Bluetooth
This capability is only in devices you have explicitly trusted.Įverything I’ve described about Bluetooth Smart privacy so far has been in place since the first release of Bluetooth Smart in version 4.0 of the core specification. IRK allows the first device to translate those special, random MAC addresses which appear in the advertising packets from the second device, to the real MAC address in the second device. This key is called the Identity Resolution Key (IRK). What happens is much more involved but after pairing, the two devices will possess various encryption keys, one of which is concerned with privacy. For example, if you pair your activity tracker with your phone, from that point on, the phone will have a special, trusted relationship with the tracker. Pairing indicates you trust the other device and want to interact with it. The answer lies in the Bluetooth pairing process-Bluetooth ® users are familiar with this process. But what use is this if the outside world sees your device as having a different address? When Bluetooth LE Privacy is in use and advertising packets contain randomly generated MAC addresses disguising your device’s identity, the real MAC address remains hidden away.
#What does le stand for mac series
It actually looks like a series of different devices, thus, it will not be possible to track you using the advertised MAC address. Any malicious device(s), placed at intervals along your travel route, would not be able to determine that the series of different, randomly generated MAC addresses received from your device actually relates to the same physical device. This feature causes the MAC address within the advertising packets to be replaced with a random value that changes at timing intervals determined by the manufacturer. To safeguard user privacy, manufacturers can make use of a Bluetooth Smart feature known as Bluetooth LE Privacy. Bluetooth Smart advertising packets also contain a MAC address to identify the device. All that needs to be done now is linking the MAC address to your personal identity and that’s it…you’re being tracked.īluetooth ® technology, on the other hand, is different.īluetooth Smart peripherals, such as activity trackers, announce their presence to other devices through a process known as advertising. It’s possible for malicious devices, hidden away in the environment, to receive these messages and log the date, time, location and MAC address in some remote web server. The MAC address is synonymous with your phone-and potentially “you”-and goes with you as you travel. If you’ve been using a hotspot to gain high-speed access to the web, chances are your phone has been broadcasting its MAC address to connect to those wireless networks. Your smartphone is in your pocket helping you navigate your day. Imagine spending a day in various parts of your local town or city, visiting shops, having lunch with a friend and seeing a doctor before returning home. To illustrate the risk of being tracked, we’ll first look at an example involving issues concerning wireless connectivity and privacy that potentially could happen today. We’ve recently made some improvements to it in version 4.2.īefore looking at the Bluetooth Smart privacy feature, let’s examine the issue. This capability has been available since the release of the Bluetooth 4.0 core specification and the introduction of Bluetooth Smart. There is a capability within Bluetooth ® technology concerned with safeguarding your privacy as it relates to any physical route you travel. “Where you go” could mean the places you drive or the route you walk. One privacy issue concerns the possibility of being tracked “where you go” in the physical world without your awareness or consent. The term “privacy” alludes to various types of issues, depending upon the context.

People are increasingly aware of, and concerned about, security-in particular, their privacy in both the physical and the digital world.
