More security flaws found in Apple AirTags

(Image credit: Pixabay)

All it takes is a little knowledge, and a little creativity, to apparently turn the new Apple AirTags into a spy gadget straight out of a James Bond movie. Motherboard has reported how several hackers, some acting out of sheer curiosity, managed to crack open Apple’s new device and completely change its purpose.

In some examples, the hackers have even shown how AirTags could be turned into potentially malicious devices - although there’s no evidence of such tactics being used in the wild just yet.

AirTags are basically Apple buttons that users can attach to different items and track their movement. The devices were unveiled earlier this year after months of speculation, and could be a huge potential earner for Apple.

AirTags as a communications gadget

In separate research, Fabian Bräunlein of Positive Security managed to broadcast arbitrary data to nearby Apple devices via the Find My protocol. In a blog post, Bräunlein said broadcasting arbitrary data was made possible by spoofing many AirTags, and encoding data in which AirTag was active. He then made the device upload the data as it reported on its location.

Bräunlein believes this approach could be used to turn the device into a communications gadget.

"I was curious whether Find My's Offline Finding network could be (ab)used to upload arbitrary data to the internet, from devices that are not connected to WiFi or mobile internet," Bräunlein told Motherboard.

Although he praised Apple’s work, saying it was “cryptographically well designed," he added that the company could “limit the misuse potential” through design changes.

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Via: Motherboard

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.